The Uchiha's Restoration
by MaiaNishikawa23
Summary: Itachi lived in the shadows to protect the life of his brother, and with it, the future. Now, his dream lives on as does his spirit. Hikari Senju lives to make his dream a reality, to watch over Sasuke and mend the wounds the village left on his psyche. Can Sasuke learn to forgive? And after the war, what future might come from children who are half Uchiha and half Senju? ItaOC
1. Your Life is Not Your Own

**Hello everybody, it has been exactly two years since the creation of Hikari Senju and exactly one year since I posted the epilogue to my first Itachi/Hikari fanfiction entitled Itachi's New Partner. It's Itachi's birthday again. A big life change happened for me this year. I was accepted into the #1 school of Social Work in the country for my master's degree (not at all to brag, just sharing because I thought it would be funny to shed some light into who I am as a writer. If you know about social work you can probably see a lot of references to the discipline in my previous story. I'm pretty serious about the themes I wrote about!) Once again, it is June 9th. Because of the wonderful reviews I received on my first story, I am happy to be submitting the first chapter of my continuation.**

 **Before going on, if you haven't read Itachi's New Partner, I strongly recommend reading that one first! Most of this is new stuff and I recap it in this story, but you will be missing a lot of character development and many good chapters of lead up. Go to my page and find Itachi's New Partner or search it in this website.**

 **For readers who were introduced to my first story because they are interested in reading about Itachi, I am happy to say that his character will live on in this one, and that he and Hikari are still very much in contact. But because he's dead, he won't be in it in quite the same way! It will be exploring Hikari and Sasuke's unique relationship and covering the time after Itachi's death, the 4th Great Ninja War, and into Boruto (because adult Sasuke and Sarada have got to be involved). So many of the very valid points raised about the shinobi world seem to have been largely ignored and forgotten by Hokage Naruto, and I want to write a story in which they aren't just left for the history books. It will also be exploring the idea of (rogue) half Uchiha and half Senju offspring. Because I'm in quite an intensive program, I might have to take a break part way through writing this story. But I'm going to try my best to get my writing out in a fairly timely manner! I've spent a lot of this year writing to give myself a head start.**

 **In any case, I hope you enjoy! And please do send me messages and reviews even if it's a question about this story or the last one. I really take my reader's input into account!**

* * *

Two months had passed since the day Sasuke learned his brother's truth. Blinded by pain and vengefulness, he sought solace in the Akatsuki and in Madara, his only remaining relative. War was close on the horizon, and the young teen dedicated himself to making preparations with his team to capture the eight-tails.

In hiding, Hikari Senju followed the raven-haired boy; keeping true to her promise every day, taking on the role Itachi had given her as a protector. And while Madara hid her existence from the boy until he was ready, even he did not know the woman's secret.

On one particularly chilly September evening, Sasuke had sent his teammates on separate duties. In the middle of a sandy plane, he stood alone waiting for his target. When she did not come of her own volition, he lost his patience.

"Come on out. I know you're there."

Hikari smiled, and stepped forward. She knew that Sasuke had stationed Karin nearby just in case, which made this arrangement all the more convenient.

"Very good, I'm impressed." No longer wearing Akatsuki attire, it took Sasuke a moment to recognize her.

"You're the one from before. The one I fought the day before he died." Sasuke thought back to that moment, caught in her wood style, partially paralyzed with the poison from her vines. As much as he tried to dismiss her that day, he remembered the conversation they had back then:

 _Itachi is our strongest member, and one of the most loyal. You're his younger brother. Let's just say.. I'm curious about you. Fine. I'll humor you. Let's say you were strong enough to kill Itachi. What then? You would be the last Uchiha."_

 _"I'm going to restore my clan. I'm going to take back all that that monster took from me!"_

 _"Such a pointless aim. Itachi was smart to have killed them. The Uchiha had always been a troublesome clan. Their arrogance and pride blinded them to their limitations. They thought they were better than the rest of your pathetic village. It's no surprise the others resented them. They made a certain impression, like they wanted more power than they deserved. I bet that someone would have gotten rid of them if Itachi hadn't taken care of the job himself."_

 _"You know nothing of the Uchiha,"_

 _"And you think you do? You must have barely been a person when your brother took them all out. The Uchiha had always been at odds with the rest of the village. You could say they were disliked from the beginning. That's why they were overrun."_

 _"I don't want to hear any more from you! My clan did nothing to deserve a massacre! Itachi is pure evil. And I'll avenge everything. I'll make him sorry he was ever born. I swear I will." Hikari's heart sunk, as she was almost certain Itachi felt that exact way at times. "So just tell me where he is." Hikari smiled at the angry teen gently, with closure._

 _"You really hate your brother, don't you?"_

 _"With every fiber of my being." She nodded._

 _"Good. Then use your desire for justice to fuel your strength." The boy looked at him questioningly. Itach's crow flew to her shoulder. Sasuke was close to breaking through her trap, to cast a genjutsu. "It will certainly make for an entertaining show. I'll be watching your fight, Sasuke."_

"Judging by what you told me that day, you must have been a coconspirator with him and Madara. You knew the truth about Itachi, didn't you? Who are you?" Sasuke demanded, guard up. Hikari gave a tender and slightly sorrowful smile.

"There's much about Itachi that even Madara does not know. I've been waiting for a long time to tell you everything. Because my name is Hikari Senju, and I was Itachi's wife.

* * *

Sasuke looked at the woman and felt his blood run cold as she held out her hand, displaying a ring on her fourth finger.

"You're… what?" The woman chuckled at his puzzlement.

"I know it sounds ridiculous. He knew he was dying of course. Neither of us had ever planned to get married, and it isn't as if we had a ceremony or anything. I suppose it was just one of his ways of seeing through the plans he had in his youth, to tell himself he had accomplished all he had hoped he would. I was the only feasible option."

Sasuke's heart stung at the reminder that Itachi's life had been cut short, that so much happiness had been taken away from them. Hikari felt his emotions empathically, and wished she could take that pain away from him.

"How long have you been following us?" The woman smirked, slightly apologetic.

"Since the very beginning." The boy scowled.

"That's impossible. Karin would have sensed you."

"You think I would have been made Itachi's teammate and counterpart if a little sensory dojutsu got in my way? I've stayed out of her range mostly, but with my abilities, I can erase my presence almost entirely. Sasuke, Itachi chose me as his partner not only so I could help keep him alive, but so I could watch over you. Through my eyes, Itachi was able to see you grow. I watched you train with Orochimaru for years all from within the bases of the Akatsuki."

The words almost went over the boy's head. Sasuke had grown accustomed to Orochimaru keeping a close eye on him while training under him. But the idea that this woman who he had met only once had known him for years, completely undetected, was too strange an idea to consider. Even more surprising was the reason why.

"Itachi… watched me grow?" Grinning tenderly, the woman tilted her head. At his question, the woman felt Itachi's etheric presence appear beside her. A faint, peaceful smile lit up his face.

"Yes. Oh Sasuke, there's so much you deserve to know. I will tell you everything, if you'll let me."

 _"_ _Hikari, be careful." The telepathic message came from Itachi._

 _"_ _I know what I'm doing."_ She telepathically replied back. Communication was difficult between the land of the living and the Pure Land, but the two had put in effort to try. Hikari remembered then, Madara's warning.

 _Sasuke had requested to move into his brother's room at each base. Karin had been stationed in the room beside hers, and Suigetsu was placed across from the temporarily retired Kisame. At her request, Madara had reported Hikari dead or missing. With no place to hide in the base, Hikari had crafted a wood style room for herself under the roots of a tree not far away. It was here that Madara would visit her, if only to ensure she did not return to the Leaf._

 _"You cannot tell Sasuke the full truth. If he learns about you and what you did in Danzo's ANBU, he'll take revenge and kill you," he mumbled sitting at her table._

 _"What if that's what I want? Sasuke deserves to kill me just as much as Itachi did." It wasn't a completely true statement, but she could not risk the man finding out her secret motivation._

 _"You're far more valuable a player in this plan than that. When he is ready, you will guide him as I do, taking the role his elder brother once did. As Itachi's closest ally, you will be highly trusted and together we will guide him down the path of annhialating the Leaf, as well as the corrupt world of shinobi."_

 _"No. I will lead Sasuke in my own way."_

 _"Itachi lied, Hikari." Hikari paused, fists clenched._

 _"And perhaps if he had not, the massacre might never have happened. Don't you think Sasuke might become more hostile at any hint of mistruth after all that has happened to him? I am not Itachi. I do not doubt Sasuke will try to kill me. But I have my own way of getting him to understand."_

* * *

Now, Hikari stood in front of the boy, so young and still so pure, despite the grief that darkened his heart. Sasuke's expression wasn't quite as stoic as it was with his comrades. There was curiosity in his eyes. Unlike his comrades, who he looked at without really seeing them, the boy now looked at her as if he truly saw her, unable to totally hide his disbelief. She hoped that one day, he would look to her as a friend.

"Only truth. Sasuke, that is my vow to you. It is what you deserve. I will not lie to you for as long as I am alive. But in order for me to tell you this story, I need you to promise me you will listen until the very end."

"How do I know I can trust you? You could be making all of this up in order to manipulate me." The confidence in the woman's eyes did not falter.

"If you decide not to trust me, you can verify my motivations by asking Madara yourself. It was his idea to pair us together. Listen to my story, Sasuke, and then in time, you can decide for yourself." The teen eyed her suspiciously as she threw off her bow equipped with arrows, her weapons pack, her cloak, and the two blades she kept tucked away in her boots.

"Fine. Talk," the teen commanded. Completely disarmed from weapons, the woman took a deep breath in and spoke.

'I was born in the Leaf Village to one of the last remaining families in the Senju Clan. As a direct descendant of the First Hokage, my family was very wealthy and influencial. My title was Lady Hikari, just as the current Hokage is Lady Tsunade. The members of my family were closely networked with the leaders of the village, and far removed from ordinary society to the extent that even the most educated were unaware that there were others besides the first Hokage who could use wood style." Sasuke inwardly grimaced. It was true that he still could not completely accept Madara's story as purely true, but from what he had come to understand, all of the leaders were his enemy. She continued.

"Since I could speak, I displayed the rare trait of heightened intuition. I would occasionally discover truths that were meant to be kept secret, and see far away what was not meant for my young eyes. While my mother worked as one of the head medics directly for the Hokage, the higher ups discovered this trait. And while nobody believed anything I said, they thought it would be best for me to be kept separated from the rest of the children in the village. Due to the priviledged status of my family, and certain unique gifts from a young age, I was assigned to a special teacher and separated from the students in the Academy. Because of this, I never had the chance to meet your brother who studied at the Academy, or any of the other peers I would one day serve."

"It was when Danzo discovered my strange talents that my life changed. Like your brother, he began to watch me. And when I left my family at the age of nine, it was he who took me in. With my mother still partially invested in my life, I was not given a new name. But it was for almost a decade that I raised myself with the assistance of Danzo. Sheltered away from the village, I was the perfect puppet for him to carry out his plans. I'm sure you can guess which plans I mean." Sasuke's face looked serious as he looked intensely at her. It was clear she had his complete attention. Hikari took another deep breath, tasting bitterness in her mouth. Sasuke could tell she was filled with remorse.

"Over the next two years, I was gradually brainwashed by Danzo and placed in a three person squad that was under near constant supervision by him. My team had all been isolated from the main village, so we were particularly vulnerable to his lies. We were told to take out certain people who posed a threat to the safety of the village without being told why. The first time I saw an Uchiha up close, it was while standing over a dead body. There were many times where I felt a sense of guilt for killing members of the village I was taught to protect. But people are weak. And under the right conditions, we are capable of following even the most heinous orders."

"At the age of twelve, the tensions in your clan were rising. Danzo knew that he had to move quickly, before your clan's coup de tat started. My team worked hard to eliminate the stronger, more outspoken members, but the strongest had caught on to our scheme. They began concentrating more on the Leaf Police Force, rather than any outside missions for the Leaf. This allowed them to work in places where the public could see anyone who might be targeting them. Without any way to divide and eliminate those who posed the most threat to the village, time ran out. Danzo had one last option. It is my deeply held belief that this option is the one he had been working towards all along. He would close the curtain on your clan with Itachi's hands. In order to do that, he needed me. Of our team, I was the most well-suited for the operation. I was ordered to track the strongest double agent, Shisui Uchiha, and sneak up on him undetected. I weakened him with a slow acting poison, so that when Danzo confronted him, Shisui would not be strong enough to withstand him. It was because of me, not the rest of my team, that Itachi was backed into the corner Danzo had long since set up for him."

As Hikari continued, she could feel the anger and hostility emanating from the boy. He silently moved his hand towards his back, but out of caution decided to continue listening.

"For years I served under the Third Hokage after Danzo's Root was thought to be dismantled, unaware of the blood on my hands. It was only when your brother returned to the village that my intuition kicked in and Danzo was no longer able to hide the truth from me. I fled the village that very night. Some rogue ninja created a secret underground system that linked between the villages. That was another thing I had picked up on when I was so young. It's far underground, and most who know of it don't associate with the nations up above, which is why I was able to hide it from the Leaf. It was at an underground hideout that I discovered the Akatsuki was looking to recruit a new member. I found your brother and pledged myself to him as his healer. From the very beginning I had planned to die by his hand before he died by yours. I suppose I overestimated my skills as the keeper of village secrets. I had no idea he was able to infiltrate Danzo's records to find my history. As our friendship grew, we both came to realize that we complimented each other in every way. Over time, racked with loneliness, our feelings grew and eventually he allowed me to become closer to him. Of course, this was not without ensuring that he knew exactly what kind of person I was and minimizing any risks that could arise in a relationship. Some time before he asked me to marry him, he discovered my secrets and guessed at my motivations. But there was one thing I was able to keep from him. Late into my time in the Akatsuki, I was confronted by Madara. For a time, I had even planned to work with him to overthrow the Leaf alongside you. Ultimately, I decided that the most effective way to overthrow the system was to force Itachi into killing me as planned and erasing all traces of my body. My death would be a small justice for the Uchiha, and a large loss for the village due to my lineage. It was only because he planned ahead better than I did that I am still alive. Your brother backed me into a corner and convinced me to continue living, of only to protect you and the future of the Uchiha. I fully understand that you might not agree with your brother's decision, but it is my hope that one day you will grow to honor it. I would protect you as your equal, and live the rest of my life repaying what I can of my debt."

* * *

Hikari felt dead. And from the looks of it, Sasuke wanted her that way too. In the ether, Itachi placed his arm gently on her shoulder.

" _You said too much."_ She heard, but ignored the warning. She knew perfectly well what she had done.

"I still don't know if everything Madara told me that day is true. If you're lying, I have no use for you as a partner. And if you're telling the truth…" Through Sasuke's normally calm exterior, he looked emotionally drained; even dismayed. "Then you deserve to die by my hand for everything you've done. I am not my elder brother. Because I have no use for you either way…" the boy's hand went towards his blade. "I suppose I should take you out right now." The piercing, steely gaze of the eternal mangyekyo shot towards her and the boy took off in her direction.

Hikari, whose eyes were already closed, smirked and dodged his first lunge. Hikari had known all of his moves since the boy was thirteen. She had practiced this fight in her head all month. The eternal mangyekyo was a trait that would one day surpass her, but it would take weeks and months more for him to master. Until then, she was confident that she still had him beat.

The two exchanged more blows, the woman on the defensive. Without normal weapons, Hikari simply made her own, using her chakra to produce the strongest form of petrified wood. The almost metal glimmered gold in the setting sun. Hikari's kekkei genkai was strong against lightning style- the defeat of her former best friend was proof of that. And when Sasuke lit it on fire, she simply made more.

Three arrows shot towards the boy from separate directions, connected to chakra threads. When one changed direction and aimed at his head from behind, Sasuke expertly turned in time to dodge it. The arrow turned into a smirking Hikari, who shot a poison vine at his hands in an effort to restrain him. The boy dodged just in time, unable to stop the look of surprise on his face. She had used a naruto-like replacement technique. He wondered if she had done it to mess with his mind, or if it had been a coincidence. For a moment, a flashback of his past arose in Sasuke's mind. The boy enabled his susanoo which wrapped around his body, shielding himself from the woman's confident gaze.

Hikari was unhindered. Forming a wood flute in her hand, she dodged several aggressive attacks from the etheric creature's free hand. _Thank you Itachi, for pushing me to fight you until the very end._ She inwardly mused.

"Do you really think that a premature susanoo is enough to kill me? You'll have to learn to do better than that, Sasuke." With a loud, sharp blast from the instrument, Sasuke's etheric weapon weakened, then completely dissipated. The woman's head reeled as she panted. Sasuke's fighting style was much less passive than Itachi's, and fighting against his new abilities was more exhausted than she had thought possible.

"Damn you!" The visibly frustrated boy lunged at her again, this time turning his ordinary sword into a long beam of lightning. On reflex, Hikari jumped out of the way, weaving hand signs in the air in preparation for her last attack. Karin was getting close, just in time. Without the full use of his ultimate defense, Hikari opted to summon a miniature forest around the two of them. Woven through the trees, she crafted the same poisonous vines he was familiar with.

"What irony the same trees Itachi proposed to me under are the trees that will end this fight once and for all. " The boy grimaced, eyes filled with resentment. "If you light them on fire, it will burn you. If you use your Susano, you know it won't work. Now calm down Sasuke." With a single hand sign, the vines dripped with a sedating elixir, prepared to shoot at their target. It was here, she thought, that they would be able to talk for a moment before she departed. But it was not to be.

Just before the vines short towards him, Sasuke smirked, and lifted his sword to his own neck. Hikari gasped, taken by surprise. She lunged at him, and just in time used her own smaller blade to pull his away from himself.

"What are you thinking?! Your life is not your own!" Just as she yelled, she realized he had made a desperate attempt to trick her. Beneath all of the anger and hate, surprise welled in his eyes. Sasuke used his advantage to lead her out of the forest, buring the trees behind him with fire. Slowly, the trees burned to the ground in black flames. Out in the open once more the two panted. Hikari, eyes filled with friendship, Sasuke's cold and merciless.

"Give it up, Sasuke. I can tell that you're out of chakra."

"You speak as if you're not. My eyes can see through all of your lies," the boy retorted.

"I'm not here to fight you," Hikari insisted. "Let me help you."

"Why would I want the help from a despicable traitor like you who is responsible for the downfall of my entire clan and the death of my brother?" Sasuke's eyes were closed to anything but the idea of vengeance. "You deserve nothing but a long, painful death. I have every right to send you straight into the afterlife. This is where you die!" With that, Sasuke lunged at her one last time, sword raised above his head in preparation for an attack.

The effort was stopped dead in its tracks.

Half a foot away from the woman, Sasuke found that he was unable to move. Looking down, he saw roots wrapped around his legs from underground.

"Oh Sasuke, you have no idea how much I wish that were true. But I can't let you. Not anymore." Beneath a weak smile, Sasuke saw the years of deep remorse carved into her face. The woman was barely alive on the inside. Warmth spontaneously arose from within the woman's chest, as she reached out to grab hold of Sasuke's hand if only to place it on her lower belly. She watched as the confusion in the boy's eyes slowly turned to realization. It was ever so small, but the woman's belly bulged just enough for him to understand.

"I was almost unwilling, but Itachi gave me a new reason for living. Why allow the very person who is responsible for your clan's downfall to live to see another day? Because I am also responsible for assisting you in shaping the clan's future. Don't let your brother's sacrifice be in vain. And if you can't find it in your heart to forgive me, then kill me later Sasuke."

"Itachi… had a child?" It looked almost as if the woman might cry.

"Yes." Before she could reiterate that he would be an uncle, Karin was upon them.

"What the hell is going on? What are you doing with Sasuke?!" Just as soon as the boy heard her voice, he removed his hand from the woman's belly. "Karin, I need your chakra." The woman rushed over to him and held out her arm. "To attack her. Don't let her escape. She's out of Chakra. She has to be kept alive." The girl looked taken aback, as if she had never been asked to fight a day in her life. Hikari smirked. The setting sun reflected off the girl's glasses as she pulled out several scalpels, running chakra threads through them.

"I don't know what went on here, but if Sasuke needs my help, I'll do anything."

"There's no need to fight me. After all, we all know that against me, you would last only a few seconds." Hikari sighed, picking up her cloak. Inside it, she took out a large pouch and threw it towards the girl. "Give him one of these. One of them should restore most of his chakra. Have them on hand at all times. There's no need for you to use your own flesh. It's your body and you should respect it." Karin looked at her surprised.

"What- what do you mean? How do you know how I was going to heal him?"

"Karin, that's enough. Just take care of her now!" Sasuke ordered.

"I'm leaving, Sasuke. Give my regards to Madara. I will not set foot on his battlefield, in exchange for my life. Tell him if he tries to hunt me down, he'll just be wasting his time. I will see you again, when this war is over." With that, Hikari departed, heading North towards the Cloud.

* * *

And so Hikari fled the Akatsuki. Numb and for the first time apathetic, the woman ran almost a week towards the Cloud. Due to Hashirama's chakra running through Zetsu, it was hard to detect any pursuers. But the malice of the plantlike ninja was unlike that of her great grandfather's and so she could manage.

Hikari stopped in a clearing on the edge of the village, encompassed in forest. Exhausted from running, she formed a single hand sign and created a simple cottage for herself. Around the clearing, the woman placed wire, paper bombs, and scrolls containing genjutsu formula which would stay activated. With her remaining chakra, she used earth style to form rows of rich, fertile soil for a garden.

Making her way into the three-room cottage equipped with shelves, cabinets, table, and chair, the woman wiped her brow and sighed.

"This is where I will keep you safe," the woman mumbled with her hand on her stomach. Hikari fell to the ground in the bedroom without particularly caring, and fell into a dreamless sleep. For now, with Itachi's child inside her, she needed desperately to regain her energy. Tomorrow would begin the most difficult and high stakes mission of her life.

* * *

Stay tuned! The next chapter will come out next week.


	2. Oncoming Storm

Sasuke scowled at his eldest family member.

"Why didn't you tell me you were allies with a Senju?! You bastard!"

"Because I knew you would react in precicely this way. I had told her to wait until you were ready before revealing herself. But it is just like Hikari to act on her own. I had planned to take advantage of her remorse and hatred of the village as your partner. Her strength and experience would have made her a powerful ally-" Sasuke slammed the door behind him.

"You're a liar! What she did was despicable. You of all people should have gotten rid of her the moment you knew who she was! "

Madara pounded his fist on the table at the incompetent boy.

"You're more arrogant than your elder brother was when I brought him in. What a fool you were to allow her to confront you by yourself!" Sasuke's expression remained unchanged at the lecturing of the eldest Uchiha.

"I was able to take down Deidara even before I had my mangyekyo. It's not like I had any reason to believe a medic and sensory nin like Karin would have been any trouble."

"Your naivety put you in more trouble than you realize," the masked man turned to the teen. "Hikari is not like your medical ninja. She could fight at nearly the same caliber as your elder brother. If she became involved in the war against us, it could potentially turn the tide of battle."

"She won't do that. Hikari told me she would stay out of your war—on the condition you don't take her out. She said it would be a waste of your time. But still… you're going to just let her run away?! If she is as strong as you say she is, then why don't you come with me and we'll kill her together?" The masked man took a moment to think, scratching his chin.

"Do you hear yourself? Have you completely forgotten about Danzo? This is your only chance to take your revenge on the man who manipulated the both of them! Letting her roam free is a large risk, but Hikari has always kept her word to me and tracking a wood style user would take enough time to put me at a significant disadvantage. For the Infinite Tsukuyomi, timing is of the essence. Hikari played her cards well. I have waited too long for this. I cannot afford to look for her now….. Zetsu." The plantlike member of the Akatsuki rose from underneath the ground. "Have three of your clones track down Hikari Senju. Make sure that wherever she has decided to find refuge, she does not leave. If she does, then have one alert me at once. Oh and Zetsu… make sure you stay out of her sensory range."

* * *

As Hikari slept, visions floated through her mind.

Age 18. Sitting atop the second tallest tower in the Rain village, Hikari and Konan looked out at the run down buildings as the skies wept mercilessly on them.

"When I look at my home from up above, I sometimes remember what it was like to walk these same streets when I was young. It's been seventeen years since I first took up the mantle of Akatsuki. Just a year younger than you are now. And after all this time, I do not regret a single minute of it. Each day I continue to lead the people of this village, I feel as if I can give to the children here everything my friends and I lacked." Hikari looked at her blue haired friend, smiling out at the village that would not stop weeping. It was true, Konan was twice her age. But it was nice to have a friend who understood how it felt to be viewed as a love interest instead of a strong and capable comrade. Her blue hair was comforting, as if her late best friend Mitsui lived on in this woman who also stood by her side.

"One day, for your sake more than mine, I hope that your dreams are realized. I truly hope that in time, people will grow to empathize with one another and corruption will cease. Perhaps then, this village will stop crying." Konan looked at her friend suspiciously, but smiled.

"You don't mean to say you regret coming to the Akatsuki for your sake, right Hikari?" Hikari shook her head confidently.

"No. I just mean that you've suffered in this world plagued by corruption longer than I have. And that you more than me deserve that justice." Konan's eyes went from suspicious to concerned.

"Hikari…. you deserted a life of comfort to fight alongside us. You deserve to see that day too." A lump caught in the younger woman's throat. Konan's words had drawn out the memory that most plagued her heart. Her darkest hour. She opened her mouth, but couldn't speak…..

Age 16, one and a half years before.

Hikari screamed as loudly as she could in the confines of her not-so-modestly sized house. She slammed her fists down on the wooden floorboards over and over, splinters piercing her skin. Tears of anguish streamed down her face as opened her eyes and looked at her hands, now bleeding. Her head ached and ears rung from the intake of new information, a vision that had turned her whole life upside down. A moment of perfect clarity that sent her tumbling into confusion.

A vision of a boy her age, Itachi Uchiha, garbed in a black and red cloak, walking down the streets of the Leaf, confronted by hateful eyes of three jonin. It had been only one month ago that the troubled man had infiltrated the village, she knew of it from stories. A vision of his younger brother, only thirteen, heart plagued by vengeance for the clan that he had lost, hell bent on killing his only living relative. A vision of his family, oppressed for generations under the regime she had risked her life time and time again to support.

Over the course of only minutes, did the girl come to realize that every year, a story had been slowly fed to her. And with every mission under Danzo, her hands had been unjustly stained with the blood of an oppressed people. Finally, through the blood of the lives she had taken, one word became seared into her mind, over the image of the boy who had first crossed her mind:

 **Hero.**

It made sense as the picture became clearer. It was this boy, the eldest son of Fugaku Uchiha, that had been Danzo's target all along. With a coup de tat coming ever closer, it was he who would seal his own clan's fate, preventing further conflict and closing their story in the history books as an innocent clan, dignified and uncorrupted. It was this boy, then, who would be branded as a horrendous criminal, sociopathic and selfish.

Everything she had been taught, everything everyone around her hand been taught, was all wrong. And she had accepted every word she was spoon fed without question. Hikari struggled to her feet, gasping for breath as tears continued streaming down her face. _How is it that for so many years, even with my foresight… I did not see it?_ Her head reeled, she shook, but using the wall as support for her tingling body, she struggled her way to the bathroom mirror. _How long ago Danzo, did you decide to teach us this rhetoric of hate?_ Hikari looked at herself, eyes red and face showing surprise just as much as the guilt and despair that began to flow through her veins. Blood dripped into the sink, but unlike the missions she had embarked on years ago, this blood was justly spilt…..

 **"I'm a villain…"**

* * *

"Is this all you have? You'll have to do more than that if you hope to avenge your brother by taking down the entire Leaf Village!" Sasuke panted lightly as the imagined figure of Danzo faded into the masked face of Madara. Susanoo rapidly fading, the boy sheathed his sword, unwilling to show the elder Uchiha how much his eyes ached.

"I'm done training. Danzo should be reaching the summit in the next few days. We should get going."

"No. Do you really think that it will be so easy to take the likes of him down? He is one of the three elders, and he was elected Hokage. We have not yet seen the extent of his abilities."

"If taking him down is such a risk, then I should conserve the use of these eyes of mine. Let's go, Madara. I'm getting impatient," the boy turned in the direction of his teammates, and commanded them to follow.

"You go no ahead of me," the masked man chuckled. "I have one other task I must attend to beforehand. I'll catch up with you later."

Hikari woke staring blackly at her new ceiling. Across her field of vision, a familiar presence floated from one side of the room to the other.

"Sasuke should be heading out to take care of Danzo soon. Why aren't you with him?"

 _"I just was. It's morning. You have a lot of work to do."_ The woman yawned and rose from her sleeping pack.

"I know. I'm on it."

In the second room, Hikari dropped her large pack on the table, removing all of the contents: a dozen scrolls, several large books, weapons, several leftover herbs, and numerous packs of seeds. After setting the scrolls and books on the book shelf, she removed the last item- the purple orb from Madara's study. If Hikari was to remove herself from the war physically, she certainly would be involved mentally. This was not Sasuke's war, but if he decided to take part, Hikari would do everything she could to protect him from afar, and her jutsu would require a lot of chakra. Stealing Madara's all seeing eye was just as practical as it was risky.

Placing the orb back inside the bag, Hikari headed outside with the bags of seeds. Standing outside the house, she visualized her garden to be, in her mind's eye. An earth release jutsu caused the dirt underground to become loosened, forming several beds for planting. And there in the garden she waited, planting vegetables and grains. Half an hour in, she turned her head to the Southeast, as a familiar presence rose out from the branch of a tree.

"It's about time. I've been waiting for you. Come out…. White Zetsu." The plant like clone gave an evil grin and chuckled.

"How did you sense me? I stayed out of your sensory range to avoid being spotted." Hikari continued to dig, using a wooden shovel.

"My sensory range has been heightened a great deal. I've been preparing food pills for the last two months in hiding." The creature chucked once more, at a loss. "I take it you've come here to make sure I keep my promise, is that right?" She continued.

"That's right. If you kill me, Madara will know immediately. You'll be killed before the war even starts." The woman rose up from her knees to dig a deep hole.

"I'm not going to kill you. I have no intention of taking part in this war. Come down from that tree, will you?" The white creature did as she asked, approaching the wire hidden in between two trees. Hikari held out her hand.

"Want to help me with this garden? Hop over the wire and take a shovel."

* * *

As Sasuke ran, teammates following behind, visions of his repressed past now came to the forefront of his mind.

 _…. Sasuke sat on the back porch of his old house, glancing at Itachi nervously. He had recently overheard their parents talking about his report card. While his heart yearned for acknowledgement from his father, it was his mother's reaction that had most surprised him._

 _"Sasuke gets top marks in all of his classes. He's excelling just like his brother," his mother had said, followed by agreement of his father. "But that's all the more reason I am concerned about him. He should be making friends with other people. Shisui is too old to treat Sasuke the same way as Itachi. What bonds will Sasuke have with his comrades when he becomes a ninja?" It had hurt. He had anticipated dissatisfaction from his father, but never from his mother. In addition, the question had confused Sasuke. Was comradeship really so important in becoming a ninja? If Sasuke could do his job well serving the Leaf Police Force, what did it matter what he did in his spare time? His brother had excelled in school and now had a chance to serve in the ANBU black-ops. Had Shisui been a large factor in his success? And if not, what was the reason for their bond?_

 _"Itachi?" the boy finally blurted out._

 _"Yeah?" Nervousness crept in, as Sasuke mentally prepared to try to get beyond the veil of mystery that was his elder brother._

 _"Mother says I need to make more friends at school. But you never made friends at school, did you?" Itachi thought for a moment._

 _"What about the boy with the blonde hair who starts fights with you?" Itachi avoided taking about his own short life at the Academy. The sidestep was frustrating, but I was even more surprising that for how little he knew about his elder brother, his elder brother knew everything about him. As much as he avoided contact, he was always watching._

 _"Oh… Naruto," he had said, feeling a sting in his heart somehow. "He only does that because he's a fool. He wants people to acknowledge him, but all he does is act out. He even fails all of his exams. He'll never make a good ninja. What would I gain by being friends with a guy like him?" Itachi had smiled at that statement, but Sasuke had not seen why._

 _"You should talk to him. You might find that letting him in will help you grow in a way you didn't realize was important." Itachi looked up at the sky, probably thinking something amazing in the brilliant mind of his that his father loved so much._

 _"What do you mean by that? In what way?" Sasuke scowled._

 _"I can't explain it to you. Sometimes growing with a friend can't be measured in battles or test scores or even with words. A ninja's strongest bond is something that can only be felt in the heart. And only once one embraces that bond, do they become a full fledged ninja." …_

Sasuke had thought at that point that is brother had been opening up about his friendship with Shisui. He had felt so proud to be considered worthy by his brother of even a small piece of his heart. Now, only after his brother's death, did he know it had all been about him. He had been his brother's strongest bond. Out of the pit of nothingness that had become his heart, a tear came, threatening to spill out of tired eyes. He locked the memory away in his mind, leading the way with an expression of stone.

* * *

"You know I don't need to eat. Gardening is Black Zetsu's pastime," the eery man chided, as he dug alongside the kunoichi. She shot him an accusing look.

"No, people watching is more of your hobby, is it not? Just as you watched Itachi and I fight all those times. And now your assignment is to watch me, so watch away," waved her hand over her head, voice laced with sarcasm and mild annoyance.

"I enjoy observing abilities that are interesting. Now that you've abandoned the Akatsuki and the war, you could say that you've lost your appeal. I don't have to help you plant food. Madara wouldn't like it. But if I'm to stand here for days, then I suppose even you are less boring than nothing at all." Hikari smiled at that.

"After avoiding me for four years, I certainly can't say talking to you in this way is boring… let us not forget, you tried to poison me less than a year ago."

"And succeeded," Zetsu corrected. "Who would have thought that the medic of the Akatsuki could be taken down with nightshade poison?" he mused.

"Who would have thought that Zetsu, skilled in a hundred types of assassination would try something as un-origional as nightshade in the first place? I never build complete immunity because it's almost too overdone to even be attempted anymore. How did the mysterious Zetsu become so unoriginal?" The woman lifted an eyebrow.

"Madara needed you immobilized but conscious enough to speak. It was the perfect way to let him tell you the truth without causing a scene." Hikari turned away sternly, concentrating on her task.

"Whatever. It wouldn't hurt you to say you're sorry." Zetsu threw his arms up.

"What for? Orders are orders. I simply do Madara's bidding. It's nothing personal." Hikari sighed, and for a while they planted seeds and dug holes in silence. Finally she voiced an idea that had long since nagged at her mind.

"Itachi told me a couple years back that you're DNA is the same as Hashirama's. Does that mean we're…"

"Genetically related? You could say so!" The white figure shot the astonished girl a thumbs up.

"I admit, it's hard to feel a family resemblance in your chakra… I used to think that the reason it was hard to sense you was that your chakra signature closely matched my own… but now, actually talking with you, it seems like your chakra comes directly from the Earth, directly from a more primal source."

"Your sensory skills make you very perceptive. But it seems you don't understand what the root of wood style chakra is!"

"Spare your word games, will you?"

"Fine, then I won't tell you. You'll never hear another word about it out of my mouth." Hikari shot Zetsu a frustrated look, but he simply crossed his arms, refusing to budge on the issue.

"Fine." Hikari dropped her shovel and wiped her brow of sweat. She wove several hand signs, and out from the ground emerged multiple vines nearest to the two of them, standing four feet off the ground. Hikari reached out at one of the vines, grabbing a ripe red tomato.

"I'm heading in for the night. Stay outside or report back to Madara if you want. If you dare come in and try to kill me, I'll snap your neck and keep running. Even a hundred white Zetsu couldn't take me down." With that, she took a bite, a splash of red liquid running down her cheek and hand.

* * *

It was dark, and Sasuke was forced to allow Juugo to guide him through the trees. He had decided to travel in the dead of night out of caution- if they were going to be infiltrating the Hidden Cloud, it wouldn't hurt to conserve chakra by avoiding detection until the time of the summit.

"We've been walking for four hours. We should stop and eat. The sun will be rising soon." His three partners stopped and followed his instructions.

"Man, I am exhausted! Sasuke, you've been working us like horses. Can't we take it a little easier? I mean we're almost there already." Suigetsu stretched his arms.

"Yeah Sasuke, we should totally ditch these two and scope out the summit alone," Karin proposed, giving him an expression that if he could feel anything at all, would fill him with pure disgust.

"We need to infiltrate the village before the sun rises, then analyze the base and refine our strategy. Now hurry up and eat, all of you." Karin's head sunk abruptly, advances having been ignored once again. Suigetsu chuckled.

"You're infatuation with Sasuke is really too much. You'd do anything just to get some alone time with him." Karins eyes became daggers as she attempted to defend herself, flustered.

"What?! NO! I only meant that I have the best chances of sensing the numbers of soldiers stationed to hurt Sasuke, I mean us! ARG! So shut up! And how can you even say you're tired when you're made out of water, you freak!" It was the pattern of bickering between them as he was always forced to endure, and Sasuke was getting beyond tired of it. He knew since the day he reached Itachi that when her usefulness came to an end, he would get rid of her.

"Enough, Karin. And Suigetsu, stop provoking her," Sasuke turned away to eat on his own with little more than a glance at his comrades. It was the first time he had verbally addressed their bickering, preferring not to sink down to the level of something so trivial. Tomorrow, he would exact his revenge on Danzo. And after the war, when the village was weakened, he would strike.

* * *

That's it for now! Next week the Uchiha will get one small piece of justice. Stay tuned!


	3. Infiltration and Escape

All through the night, Hikari studied in the second floor of her wooden cottage. She wiped her brow from the use of her chakra.

"Why in the world did you ever enjoy doing this?" She mumbled to the figure only half present in the corner of the room. "I feel like my brain is going to explode from all of this studying."

 _"You don't need to do this, you know. For the plan to work, you could simply stay here and watch from afar. It would be better if you minimized any potential risks until after the war."_ With the amount of training she was undergoing, it was becoming easier to hear the half whispering voice of her cautious husband.

"Itachi, you know me better than anyone else dead or alive. You know I can't just sit back and nurture the baby while your brother is out there, vulnerable to the five great nations, and while Danzo is Hokage."

 _"You will join the war then? And if so, who would fight alongside you? The Akatsuki? Would you ask to be a driving force in project Tsukinome, against the beginnings of a larger system of united villages like you had once dreamed of? You don't even know the extent of what Madara plans to do. Or would you rather fight on the side of the Allied Forces? There is little chance any of them would forgive and trust an ex-Leaf ninja whose activity within the Akatsuki brought them to the battlefield in the first place. Hikari, you must know as well as I that if you fight, you will fight alone."_

"I know that, Itachi." She grimaced. "I have a plan."

Hours later, the young soon to be mother stretched her arms and back, having mastered the new technique. Just before the sun rose, she was ready to begin.

* * *

Every entrance into the Kage Summit was guarded by several samurai soldiers. Having circled the perimeter once around, Sasuke beackoned his team to join him, looking at the map Madara had provided.

"Here's what we'll do. We'll all do a full rotation around the perimeter. Karin, I want you to use your sensory skills to map every guard stationed inside the building, including their routine movements. Can you do that?"

"It might be tricky, but I can try." Karin pushed her glasses up her nose. Sasuke nodded, blankly.

"Juugo, I want you to use the birds in the surrounding trees to spy on the kage when they arrive. We need to know exactly when they come. There's too high a risk we will be detected too soon if Karin gets close to them. When they begin to arrive, we will get into position." Juugo nodded.

"What about me, Sasuke?" Suigetsu interjected. Sasuke shot him a smirk.

"Suigetsu, I want you to go on ahead and get ready to infiltrate right now. You'll change your form and go in through the southern entrance where their numbers are low. Stay in liquid form until you see us and help me take them out from behind before they can make any sound." It was a solid plan, and with Jugo and Karin's surveillance, there was little chance of them being discovered.

* * *

It was just after sunrise that Hikari greeted the white skinned man at the edge of her garden once again.

"Good morning," she waved, gesturing for him to come through her barrier once again. "How did you sleep?"

"You know very well I don't need to sleep. I was awake within your sensory range all night guarding the perimeter of your camp, making sure you didn't escape."

"I suppose I forgot," Hikari scratched her head. "I was so caught up in studying." It was a calculated comment, but it was a true one.

"For what? You deserted the Akatsuki and now you have nowhere to go. What could you possibly need to study?" The man eyed her suspiciously.

"It is for that exact reason that I needed to study. I'm a ruling class Senju who spent her life being watched over and serving in the ANBU! How do you suppose I would have found time to learn the skills needed to run a farm?" She held out a scroll depicting how to construct a rice pattie. "This is today's project. Oh, and I'll need to leave the borders of this camp to hunt, so you should keep watch on me then, too." Zetsu appeared unconvinced.

"It almost seems as if you're too eager to have someone keep watch on your every move. I'll have you know that four other clones were sent to monitor your activities last night as well." Hikari chuckled, having known that.

"I spent almost my entire life living in shared quarters, and I'm an ambivert. You can't blame me for getting a little lonely being on my own from now on." She turned to him, inspired. "Hey, you can invite the other four to come in as well! The five of you can help me harvest the veggies and grains I've grown!" Zetsu looked at her as if she had asked him to walk on all fours.

"Not even a week out from the Atatsuki and you've already become a little crazy. We were brought here to make sure you don't leave, and that's all we plan to do."

* * *

It was almost noon beftore Danzo made his way down the bridge to the Western entrance of the summit, garbed in the Kage attire he had spent his entire life dreaming of wearing. The red embroidery almost glistened on his back, as red as the blood of the countless lives he had sacrificed in order to wear it. And in the shadows right next to the entrance, Hikari waited invisibly with her fists clenched.

If it weren't for Itachi's infiltration into Danzo's root estate, or their confrontation with the leaf ninja that had spent years observing her in the first place, Hikari would not have been able to escape Zetsu's detection in the way she had. But at the expense of over a dozen former comrades, she had learned her attacker's jutsu, as had Itachi. It was a justu that allowed her to change the frequency of the particles that made up her body, allowing her to change from flesh to ether for a few moments at a time. It was a fitting jutsu for one who could know more than met her eye, see spirits and talk with the dead, the three traits that had brought her to Itachi in the first place. Hikari's clone had left before sunrise, silently sweeping past the five Zetsus like an etheric cloud.

As Danzo walked up to the entrance, he saw no one at all. But just seconds before he stepped through the threshold, the ghost of Hikari was there. He would have thought it was a ghost; a figment of his imagination had he not helped create the jutsu that loomed beside him. The woman who had indeed haunted his mind long before now glared at him with piercing eyes. It was in Hikari's grave and foreboding/ominous expression, in the hand that rested against her lower stomach, that her message lied. Without words, her message was clear:

Number one: She was alive.

Number two: Sasuke, beyond all shadow of a doubt had learned the truth about Itachi. He wanted revenge on behalf of his brother, and the entire Uchiha clan.

Number three: Hikari could attempt to kill him here and now, but she was not. Therefore, Sasuke was not far away.

And lastly number four: there was a fair chance Hikari was pregnant. Danzo might have worked to eradicate the Uchiha Clan using Itachi and herself, but he had not taken away their history, and he had not taken away their future.

Even if the last message was left ambiguous, one thing above all else was perfectly clear.

In less than an hour, Danzo would likely be dead.

Without as much as an eyebrow raise, the despicable man walked through the shadowy threshold, obscuring himself in shadow. Danzo was not foolish enough to test an opponent that had become stronger than he had. Hikari retreated behind a nearby wall of the building and sighed, feeling a surge of life flow into her heart. Knowing that she could count the minutes until the most unforgivable man was nothing more than an ink stain on the history books, the guilt that weighed down her weary bones seemed to lighten somehow. Hikari had always been a woman of her word, and she had kept true to her promise. She had not set foot on the battlefield. After all, looking down, she could still see that the lower half of her body was formless.

"Now Sasuke…. Where will you be?"

* * *

Suigetsu, a mere puddle behind the feet of the three Samurai, rose up into human form, grinning.

"You three need to be more observant. You must have figured the dripping from up above was leak, but there aren't any cracks in these walls are there?" The men turned around in surprise, drawing their blades, but it was too late. Sasuke had already appeared in the entrance, sharingan enabled. The men died silently. Jugo and Karin followed, the female wide eyed at his apparent lack of mercy.

"If our information is correct, there should be no more soldiers in the next hall and all the way into the main chamber. Move in," Sasuke explained, coldly moving past as if none of his team was there. Only a couple months ago, if his team had faced an enemy, Sasuke would have killed only those who directly stood in the way of his goal. Indiscrimenant slaughter would have been reminiscent of his brother. Now, upon knowing the truth, he could see clearly. These samurai's lives were inconsequencial in relation to his revenge. If he was honest with himself, he almost looked forward to ridding himself of anyone defending the five great nations.

In her cottage, Hikari sat at the kitchen table, staring blankly at her unfinished meal. She sighed and closed her eyes, concentrating her chakra into her brain as hard as she could.

 _"It's been a little while, hasn't it… Madara?"_ In her mind's eye, she could see the man running through snow covered trees in a city not very far away. _"If you think to me, I will hear you for now."_

 _"Hikari, the tricks you have up your sleeve never cease to surprise me. How is it that you are able to reach my consciousness? Where are you?"_ As planned, the woman smirked and projected an image of the cottage in front of her.

 _"I'm in the cottage I created, as I'm sure the original Zetsu has told you. It takes me quite a lot of chakra to project my thoughts to you from this far a distance telepathically. You don't have to worry about me leaving. I'd invite you over but from the looks of it, you seem to be busy."_

 _"Damn you. You planned to desert the Akatsuki all along, leaving as soon as I could not afford to hunt you down."_

 _"I told you before. Our philosophies are different. If you want to achieve peace, true reform is needed. Living in a dream is the same as living a lie. Even dreams have an ending. And when they do, you would be left with nothing."_

 _"Silence. You don't even know what you speak of. No matter, you will be locked inside the eternal tsukuyomi soon enough. I assume you haven't reached out simply to chat. What do you really want?"_

 _"Sasuke and his team have decided to confront Danzo inside the Samurai's base. Surely you don't believe he could take all five kage down on his own. You should go to back him up."_ Through their link she could feel him smile.

 _"Not before I make one last attempt to capture the nine tails. By the time Sasuke is in danger, I'll be there to create a diversion. Sasuke will have Danzo all to himself. There's no harm in making one last attempt at killing the Uzumaki. And I think I'll tell them the truth about Itachi while I'm at it."_

 _"No, don't! Back then, before Itachi died, I said I wanted the village to be punished. But what do you have to gain by dragging the history of the clan you already destroyed through the mud?"_

 _"I suppose I'm simply curious to see what it will do to weaken the boy's morale. If he continues to live, he will know the kind of village he defends; the blood on the hands of the Hokage. Besides, it was tiresome having to live under Itachi's scrutiny. And don't think that your disloyalty to my organization goes without punishment."_

 _"Damn you…"_ Hikari grimaced, realizing her chakra levels were draining very rapidly. Confident in Sasuke's safety, she released the link to the masked man, pounding her fist on the table. Beside her, Itachi's presence appeared. A hard lump welled in her throat. Unwilling to address her worries with the man who was finally free of suffering, she turned her head towards the etheric image of her lover.

 _"Sasuke is almost upon the Five Kage. I'll relay new information to my clone, and together we can watch him get rid of Danzo."_ Where a stern expression would have followed the plan while Itachi was alive, now the man simply gave a kind smile.

 _"Finish eating. You need to nurture the new life inside of you."_

* * *

Eyes aching from the strain of his jutsu, Sasuke sped down each hall, filled with malice and bloodlust. In this moment, his only desire was to give the man who had made life a living hell a slow and painful death. It was almost as if his sword had become a magnet being pulled ever closer to the man's black heart.

Effortlessly, Sasuke erased his presence and sped past the guards. Stopping on the ceiling over all the corrupt Kage, the boy glared down at his target. The pathetic excuse of a man sat there expressionless, scared for his life, clearly plotting his escape.

Outside the summit, Hikari stood at the main entrance, on the bridge that lead directly to the road back to the Leaf's campsite. Knowing now that Madara would provide a diversion, she began to spot out a hiding spot, entire body thrumming with eager excitement. Justice would do away with Danzo Shimura, and perhaps maybe one day the boy would be kind enough to do away with her as well.

Itachi's spirit appeared beside her, and though her sensory abilities were weaker than those possessed by her original, the clone Hikari could faintly feel the man wrap his arm around her.

" _The time has finally come_ ," his feint whisper grazed her ears.

"I knew you would come," the woman smiled.

* * *

Sasuke awoke to find his back laying on hard, cold stone. Upon opening his eyes he was surprised to find that it was not the floor of the building but one of many stone pillars in an endless void.

"Where am I…" he heard himself mumble.

"Sasuke!" the red haired woman that had just come into focus yelled, pouncing on him and wrapping him tightly in her arms to his great discomfort. "I was so worried! That short man said he had dismantled you and I couldn't feel your chakra anymore!"

"Get off of me!" Sasuke commanded, fed up with the woman's frequent onslaughts of affection. The woman looked into his eyes and became afraid, relenting. "Where are we anyway? Where is Danzo?"

"It seems we're inside Madara's jutsu. He sucked both of us in with his left eye so I could heal you. I'm not sure where Danzo is though." Sasuke glared at her with ice cold eyes.

"Are you telling me you let him get away and you haven't tried to find a way out?"

"Don't blame it all on me! It was only a few seconds after you got brought here that I was too, and you've only been unconscious for a minute!" Sasuke turned away from her in distain.

"We have to find a way out. Every second he's allowed to run our chances get smaller of killing him. I brought you with me to make sure he didn't ever leave our sight!" Suddenly, Karin's demeanor changed from angry to scared and hurt.

"Sasuke…. Is that all… I am to you? Are we really just your tools to do with as you please? Does the fact we risk our lives for you mean anything to you at all?" Sasuke turned to her, eyes still ice cold.

"I never said you had to stay. If you don't like it, then leave. It doesn't matter to me either way at all." It was mostly the truth. Despite his lack of feeling for her it was true that she could still be of some small use. The woman looked away for a minute, wincing, then back at him.

"What changed you, Sasuke? Why did you turn so cold? You're not yourself anymore! Do you remember when we met in the Chuunin exams? You smiled at me way back then. And after years of healing soldiers against my will, you still let me choose for myself. All I want is for you to smile again. All I want is to help you get the freedom you gave me. Don't you see how much I care about you? I'm choosing every day to help you so that one day you can be happy again!"

"That's enough, Karin. This is the path I walk; the path of vengeance. You've never understood that. In order to rid the world of corruption, feelings of freedom and happiness are useless. To pursue justice, no one person's life matters. I no longer seek the light. I will rid the world of all its corruption and shoulder the burden alone. And I will kill anyone that stands in my way." At those last words, the woman relented.

"You think that a life filled with pain and loneliness is justice?! You spent your whole life getting stronger to kill your brother, and yet somehow after getting rid of him it seems like revenge did nothing for you! How can being alone really be what you want? I don't understand! Just let me be with you and I'll show you it doesn't have to be this way!"

"I said that's enough!" It took all his emotional self control to convince himself that the woman's usefulness had not come to an end. Just then, Madara entered the space. "What took you so long? Danzo could have escaped by now."

"Not the case. I took the liberty of ensuring your fight will not be stopped by the other Kage. If I didn't know you, I would say thanks were in order. If you are healed, I can transport you to where Danzo is. He couldn't have gone far."

"Then take me to him. I'm ready," Sasuke said, adrenaline racing. Madara nodded.

* * *

That's it for now! Danzo's death is a long time coming, and now it is only a week away. Once again, I hop you've been enjoying the new plot. If anyone would like to share what you hope will happen to Hikari and Sasuke in the war, I'd love to hear in either the reviews or in a message! I might just include your idea. ;)

Also I know these past chapters have been a little shorter. I've been breaking them into parts that make the most sense to the plot. But I'll try to make them a little longer if I can.


	4. The Unallied Shinobi Force

Hikari watched from the trees as Sasuke and Madara appeared in thin air with the red haired woman in tow. The deplorable man stood on the bridge of his demise, preparing for the oncoming battle. To both Hikari and Itachi's disgust, he uncovered his arm to reveal multiple implanted sharingan eyes. It took every bit of the woman's strength not to join the fight.

"Damn it. It's just like the man we fought when I joined the Akatsuki. He forced us into a corner and stole the last of your clan's power for his own gain."

 _"They weren't the only ones. Madara harvested a much larger collection of eyes for himself."_ The two shared glances.

"At least Madara is an Uchiha….." The two watched the fight in silence, prepared to interject at a moment's notice. Fists clenched, Hikari attempted to cement the moment in her memory. As the fight continued, several other Uchiha spirits joined in, standing alongside Itachi.

 _"Sasuke has certainly gotten stronger. I'm impressed with how my death has helped his sharingan mature."_ Not soon after his brother's optimistic statement, did Danzo grab the sensory ninja that had been assisting nearby. Just as suddenly, Sasuke's lighting style cut through the woman's body just beneath her heart.

"He's gotten stronger but at what cost? Sasuke has a lot of unlearning he must do as a person. I hope that one day I can help him to heal."

"Don't put it all on yourself, Hikari. I have faith in Naruto. Look now, and sear the sight into your memory." The horrid man was at his end. His two pawns watched solemly, as the man responsible for all of their pain ran in fear, bleeding out. Cornered, just as they too had been cornered, Danzo Shimura took his own life, all evidence of his cursed life exploding into nothingness.

With the man who had watched over her for half her life finally dead, a feeling of peace lightened Hikari's heart. If she hadn't known Sasuke, she would have guessed he felt the same.

 _"So, Danzo's dead. What will you do now?"_ The etheric form asked.

"Madara was right… I'm on nobody's side, aren't I? For the first time in my life, I'm lost. I don't know what to do."

* * *

Sasuke left the battle scene with Madara nearly spent. Miles away from the summit, the elder Uchiha lead him to a base no one in the Akatsuki had yet seen.

"This hideout was the first to be created. It is called Mountains' Graveyard. It is where I have hidden my laboratory." Danzo's corpse hands dragged along the floor beside Madara, who carried him. "I will attempt to extract the remaining sharingan from this body before we transfer your brother's eyes.

Sasuke rubbed his sore eyes and squinted in the darkness, making out the interior of the base. The cave was a maze of rooms, which only Madara knew the way to. He led the boy through the cave and several rooms to the left, where it opened to a large hall. A giant Uchiha crest marked the top of a large cabinet. Underneath was a simple operating table. Sasuke looked at the cabinet closer in the darkness and swore. Hundreds of eyeballs floated in labeled bottles of hydraulic fluid.

"Damn you. You've been keeping theses here since the massacre!"

"It was a nessicary precaution. I have them on hand in the case I might need replacements. You should be thankful, Sasuke. Would you rather I have allowed them to be stolen by the Leaf Village?" It was an argument that silenced the boy.

"Whatever. Just do the operation soon."

There was no fear or apprehension in Sasuke's heart. He would endure whatever pain was necessary to grow stronger. Even with new eyes, Sasuke would walk deeper into the darkness, just as his brother had.

* * *

That night, on the precipice of the largest war in all shinobi history, Hikari rested in a makeshift bed in her wooden cottage, having her first good dream in a long time.

... It was a mission during their second year knowing each other that had changed Hikari's perspective on her teammate for the first time.

They had come to a small city in pursuit of a bounty. Upon arriving, they were surprised to find the city desimated and in smoke.

"Hikari, you need to search for any survivors." The girl nodded and closed her eyes, searching for any signs of life. For a moment, it seemed clear that there was nothing. Then, to her astonishment, a small flicker shimmered in her consciousness to their right.

"I felt something! It was small and feint. We have to hurry." Lifting splintered wooden fragments of a house off of the spot, the woman gasped at the sight of a small boy and girl, barely alive. The girl squinted in the light, still conscious. Both were covered in bruises and small scrapes. At the sight of the two cloaked ninja, the girl burst into tears.

"They must have been stuck under the weight of the pillar," Hikari guessed as Itachi scooped up the girl.

"You're safe," Itachi told her, checking for any large wounds. The woman went for the boy, just a year older, maybe five or six. She grimaced. A piece of the debris had cut into his stomach, and he had lost a lot of blood.

"He needs immediate medical attention!" The woman laid him on the dusty ground next to him, grabbing some medical supplies. After cauterizing the wound, the woman began mending the open wound. Minutes later, the damage had been repaired and he was safe.

"The ones who attacked the city might still be nearby. If there are no other people you sense, we should leave this place." The girl agreed, and they carried the children to a safer location nearby.

Through piecing together everything the small children had told them, they deduced that the village had been attacked by a group of bandits seeking riches in the city. While the children didn't remember much, the two rogues were able to gather that there was a high chance of many escaping.

Ultimately, they decided to take the children to the nearest town, where they could find an orphanage in the case their family was not found. After feeding them, when Hikari was confident the two were healthy enough to travel, they set out.

Hikari walked a little behind the cloaked man, carrying their packs and admiring the setup that Itachi had chosen. While the girl sat nestled safely in his arms, the boy rode proudly on his shoulders, looking considerably more hopeful against the setting sun.

"Are we there yet?" The boy, named Gaman asked for the third time since setting out.

"We should be there before the sun sets in an hour or less," the man patiently stated. "Will you be alright until we get there?" The boy nodded calmly.

"I'll be alright. It's just a long walk." Itachi chuckled, fumbling in his pockets with his free hand.

"Here," he reached up to the child, handing him a small piece of candy. "That should last you until we arrive." The boy curiously gave it a lick and grinned.

"It's too sweet! My head is going to pop off!" He kept sucking on the treat anyway. Itachi had actually laughed, to Hikari's great surprise. It was a light, warm and gentle sound that Hikari had only heard a few times before. The genuineness of his delight and the child's joke had sent a familiar fluttering into the woman's heart.

"Hikari," Itachi had said, and for a moment she had feared he picked up on her reaction. "Would you look inside the front pocket of my bag? I have something for Katsumi." Hikari nodded, having become very familiar with Itachi's persistent sweet tooth. She found a red candy piece, similar to the first. She placed it in the waiting open mouth of the girl resting comfortably in his arms.

"Be careful not to choke on this," Hikari warned. For the first time, the traumatized child smiled at her.

"I won' choke, I'm like a woman!" The girl's high pitched statement caught them by surprise, and both of them chuckled. Happy to hear Itachi enjoying himself, she looked at him. It was then, that Itachi smiled back at her, looking relaxed and in relative peace with the children resting on his person. In that simple exchange, Hikari lost the battle over control over her own heart. Itachi had pulled it in, and there was no going back from it. The woman found herself bound to him not simply by circumstance, but by a secure sense of love and belonging. Just as soon as she was certain of her love, Itachi looked away to the other side, expression inscrutable.

Itachi set the children down at the orphanage, comforting them with the idea that their parents might indeed be alive as well as other survivors. Tears welling in their eyes, the girl had asked if they would come back for them. Faking a smile, Itachi told them he could not return; that they would be much safer there. Instead, he rummaged through his bag one more time, this time pulling out one of his own clean shirts. Using a kunai, he cut two large square pieces out of it, handing one to each. With how young the children were, the fabric functioned well as a comfort blanket.

"When you're scared, you can have these to remember us by." The kids smiled, weakly. The action had inspired Hikari to do what she could. The woman had marched right up to the keeper of the orphanage and handed her a bag of small gold coins.

"Please take this and use it to buy what you need for the orphanage. I wish you the best in hard times ahead." As quickly as they came they departed, leaving her with a feeling of sorrow.

"That was a generous gift, Hikari."

"It was from Hashirama's decendents themselves, so I don't deserve the compliment. You gave them the shirt off of your back because it was what you had. I did noting to earn my donation." Itachi looked at her as if he wished to debate her on that point, but decided against it. Gathering up the courage, Hikari turned to him. "You like kids, don't you?" The man smiled softly, eyes looking sad somehow.

"I always have." ...

The woman woke to the sound of late night thunder. At her waking, Itachi's presence drifted towards her from some place unknown.

"You would have made a wonderful father…" She whispered, unable to keep a tear from running down her cheek. Then from the deepest corners of her mind, she spoke perhaps the truest realization in a long time. "I… I miss you." To her surprise, she felt the spirit of the man, only a little ways apart from her kneel down behind her, wrapping the lost woman in his arms. Even without a body, Itachi was just as much with her as he had been while living. The man had decided to sacrifice some time he had in the pure land to watch over the two living people he loved most. Hikari cried for the first time in months.

* * *

Sasuke's eyes panged painfully as he looked up into the darkness. It was the pain of his sharingan, the limiting circumstances, that persuaded Sasuke to honor his brother in the way Itachi had planned.

"The procedure is simple, but you will must rest for the following week. Do you understand that? There's still time to reconsider. You can become stronger all on your own."

"You could say the same for Naruto. If he continues to get stronger at the rate I am going, I'll never be able to destroy the village. I need to be sure that I can cut him off. I'm ready. Do it already." He commanded to Madara, who stood above the table where he lay.

Up until this point, Sasuke's life had revolved around the goal of becoming stronger in himself in order to catch up to his brother. Now with his brother dead, he had no choice but to honor Itachi's gift.

 _"This is it, Brother… you will live on inside me. With these eyes, I will bring you justice."_

In a few day's time, Sasuke's strength would exceed Naruto's. He would hold true to his promise, and kill him along with every other person in the village who mattered to him. Even if it was at the cost of his own life, the people who betrayed his clan and the system that they upheld would be forgotten to history. And a revenge on such a large scale would ensure that such a genocide happen would never happen again.

By the time Sasuke opened his new eyes for the first time, the war had already begun.

"It's been long enough. I'm going to take them off," he told Zetsu adamantly.

"Madara instructed me to watch over you until you had time to fully heal. It's best to take more time-" Sasuke interrupted the undesired response by pulling the bandages off regardless. He had long grown tired of the high, condescending voice of the plantlike creature. Sasuke's eyes flashed open, glowing in the darkness. He would be rid of the voice himself. "What are you doing? Sasuke-" Sasuke focused his intention and his body glowed violet. Ribcage forming around him, the boy slammed the babbling and shrieking creature against the wall, promptly killing him.

Light from the cave's entrance created grainy mirages across his field of vision and dizziness overtook him. He would wait just a bit longer, and set out after the sun set. In time, the pain subsided behind his eyes and his surroundings became clearer. Next to the room he had slaughtered the original Zetsu, a feint glow shone behind the door of his own room. Curious, he ventured forward, adjusting to the light. The room had been minimally furnished with only a bed, a desk, chair, and simple torch lamp.

On the desk lay a piece of paper and cloth bag. Assuming his mentor had left him a note, Sasuke halfheartedly grabbed the sheet, holding it up close so he could read. The boy instantly scowled.

 _Madara left one day ago and won't be returning. I took the liberty of speeding up your healing just a little, because I know how impatient you can be. The bag is filled with food pills, painkillers, and more energy patches. I advise you to use them wisely, because I won't be seeing you for a while. Take this time to get some rest and think deeply about what you want to do. Do your best to stay alive through the end of the war. I'll be waiting for you._

 _P.S., Thank you for killing Danzo so swiftly. Your brother would have been very proud of you._

Sasuke's fist clenched at the mention of his brother and he grimaced. Frowning, he slammed the note on the table. War? Was Madara soon to start his plans? Vertigo suddenly hit the boy. He eyed the cloth parcel, realizing he had not eaten in what was probably days. With a change of heart, he snatched it up and made his way out of the cave into the night.

* * *

Hikari walked through the trees in the moonlit night, being sure to evade detection from any prospective ninja. For her plan to go smoothly, she would have to go completely undetected. She closed her eyes, surveying her surroundings and far beyond.

Ahead of her, tens of thousands of Allied Shinobi gathered provisions and organized for the coming onslaught. Deep beneath her, and just a ways off, what felt like twice as many White Zetsu clones walked underground, through the great caverns Madara had discovered many years before. Hikari chuckled to herself. She had to admit, Madara had planned his onslaught well. Though each clone by itself was weak, it might even be enough to stall and weaken the Allied Shinobi Force, enabling him to capture the remaining tailed beast chakra.

In the distance, the lights of the Kage meeting place shown like a beacon for those nearby. And a half mile to the West of it, her targets sat guarded by four Leaf Shinobi. Hikari was just beyond sensory range of the makeshift camp. She took out both short swords from her pouch.

 _"Hikari, what are you doing?"_ The gentle, low whisper entered her mind.

"Doing something I should have done years before now." She whispered back to her husband. The woman made no effort to explain. After all, Itachi was a dead man. This mission was in her hands alone. And today, his opinion on it came secondary. This mission was for Sasuke.

Hikari erased her presence and took another step. Her foot did not touch the ground. Her lower half was ether. The woman silently floated to the camp like a phantom, knives in hand. In time, the central tent was in view. The entire campsite had very few ninja stationed there. It had been strategically placed to allow for provisions to be delivered to the allied forces a small distance from the battleground. Several ninja hauled shipments of weapons and food rations out of the encampment, while five others guarded the perimeter.

Of the five, the woman recognized two. One was a former ANBU who had superior sensory skills. The other, a Huga, had a superior sense of sight in the dark. Hikari choose the former. Using a majority of the chakra from her original body, the woman erased her presence to her maximum capacity and floated towards the unsuspecting man. Just as her etheric form passed around him, she partially solidified. With a hand on his mouth, she slit the man's throat. No sound.

 _"Hikari, you have to stop this,"_ Itachi warned, a hint of urgency in his voice. _"You're carrying our child. It's not worth the bounty that will be on your head from here on out."_

 _"Our child will be fine,"_ she answered back, mentally.

The tent was near. Illuminated in the center, Hikari continued on her course, invisible to the four guards that surrounded it. Even as ether, she could hear the muffed voices of three of the highest rank Leaf officials inside, discussing plans for the coming day. The guards positioning was inconsequential. She floated into the tent from the back.

"We need more rations. We successfully eliminated half of the white Zetsu but at what cost? If we want to last more than another day our troops need to replenish their chakra!" One voice, an older woman advised, in a scolding tone.

"We have what we need if we want to replenish our chakra. Our time would be better spent hunting down and sealing the Jinjuriki," another countered. Each was so distracted in debating the other that none had sensed her presence. It was time to strike. Hikari solidified where she stood, behind them.

"What you need is to invest in teaching more sensory ninja." Hikari looked at the astonished woman in the doorway with hostility in her eyes.

"Lady Hikari…" the older man whispered. Hikari made several hand signs, and before anything else could happen, the guards outside were paralyzed with poisonous vines. Still alive, the sensory ninja who guarded the perimeter had no reason to be suspicious.

There in the tent they stood, each aware of their precarious position.

Lady Tsunade stood at the opening of the tent, eyes fixed on the younger woman. In between them sat the two advisors, Homura and Koharu. Hikari's swords were already at the ready to do whatever was needed. The Hokage put her hand on her hip and shifted her weight.

"So my young niece decided to come by and pay us a visit. It's been so long that without my bingo book I wouldn't have recognized you. What an honor." The elder Senju's voice was laced with sarcasm. Hikari spoke in a soft but composed tone.

"Your guards are paralyzed by nightshade poison. If you leave this tent for reinforcements, it will result in the death of more of your army."

"To come in here with an entrance like that is the act of a fool. And to think that you were chosen by the Akatsuki! No, you're just as overconfident and headstrong as you were as a small child."

"You know nothing about me," the younger woman answered, arms still at the ready. Tsunade shook her head.

"Do you really think that I wouldn't have been informed about what kind of a fighter you were after you became a member of the Akatsuki? It is true that your abilities are a testament to my grandfather, but you're nothing but a traitor to the village that he created. If you attempt to kill me now, I'll have no choice but to finish you off, even if it does mean ending the wood style gene forever." Hikari chuckled darkly at her stall for time. More reinforcements were sure to be on their way, but it didn't matter.

"I said it once and I'll say it again. You know nothing about me. You left the village years ago condemning it for sending the ones you love to their deaths in war. And yet now you came back to send your subordinates off to theirs? How can you be so blind? Do you see that for as long as individual countries send ninja to fight and die for money and power there will be no end to conflict? Even if you band together now, there is no guarantee you will stay allies if you were to win the war. You're repeating the past you spent your whole life running from!"

"Don't tell me what to do. You might be family, but so is the rest of my village. And I'm not going to die at the hands of someone who believes that the only way to peace is living a lie!" Hikari sensed three jounin level ninja running towards the tent from two hundred yards away.

"Oh my dear great aunt, you are mistaken. I am no longer in the Akatsuki. You made your choice to defend the village… and this choice is mine alone."

"Hikari, please…" Lady Koharu begged quietly in terror. Hikari lifted her swords in preparation to strike, unkempt hair billowing behind her. Lady Tsunade gathered high pressured chakra in her firsts, bracing herself for impact. But it was too late.

Hikari's blades came down, swiftly severing the necks of the two chief advisors. The last two living shinobi largely responsible for the Uchiha Clan Massacre had been killed.

Tsunade, mid lunge, opened her eyes wide in shock and for a split second her gaze went to her left, looking at her fallen comrade, a beheaded bloody heap on the ground. Hikari took the opportunity to send a poison vine up the leg of the Hokage. The woman's mighty blow was almost upon her when the guards burst into the tent.

"Lady Hokage!" One exclaimed. The elder Senju's fist collided with Hikari's forehead, cracking her skull. And Hikari burst into smoke.

"A clone!" The second guard said. Tsunade swore, breaking off the vines that were laced in poison. It would be a hassle to extract the nightshade from her veins. The woman half wondered if the reason her young rival had told her the poison was because she hadn't wanted to kill her. Her subordinates fanned out to find the intruder, but she was gone.

* * *

It was quiet.

Sasuke walked through the graveyard of giant bones, wondering what types of creatures had died here and why. If he was honest, there was much he did not know. He wondered what other pieces of history had been left out while he studied at the academy or in the Sound Village. Perhaps every country and every individual conveniently left out pieces of the truth to better suit their agenda.

 _"I sound like my brother,"_ he smiled and thought to himself. It made perfect sense as to why. Ever since his brother's eyes had been transplanted into him it felt as if he had taken on a small piece of his essence. Wether or not it was a trick of his mind, he felt as if he carried a small piece of him, clinging to him like a warm shadow. On occasion, throughout the healing process, Sasuke had been seeing small flashes of memories past. First it was of their old home and of a young him, then a battlefield. He closed his eyes, desperately trying to recall more to memory.

...He saw his brother, not quite full grown, standing on the store of some deserted city with another man by his side. The man had burgundy markings on the lower half of his face and a cold, harsh expression. He felt the wind on his brother's face and smelled the salt of the sea...

...He saw his brother stand over several corpses near a field of tall grass. He had stopped a trade caravan and executed an unknown target inside a palanquin for commission. Context aside, it was not unlike a mission assigned by the Leaf's ANBU. Killing had been his brother's profession for almost all of his life...

...He saw his brother grow sick, coughing up blood. For a year Itachi had self medicated with any feasible treatment he could find, all in secret. He felt his brother's insides, sore and hot like fire. He felt his brother's warm tears silently falling down his face as he coughed into the sink...

The flashes of memories flowed past his eyes as if reviewing pictures, movies, sensations, snapshots of a life once lived without having relived it. They came and went on occasion as if remembering a half forgotten dream. Each one brought Sasuke more sorrow and longing. For no matter what might have flashed in his vision, the truth was undeniable. Sasuke had never known his elder brother. No matter how long he had yearned to reach him as a child, no matter how long his life had been centered around his elder brother, he would never come to truly connect with him.

But Sasuke's life had never been about connection. Like his brother, his life had been to become stronger in order to do what was right. Sentimentality was a weakness that would prevent him from achieving his goals. He would walk deeper into the darkness alone if need be, just like Itachi had done. But unlike Itachi, he would do it his own way.

* * *

Hikari's legs gave way on the wooden floor of her kitchen. To maintain a clone for the length of time that she had, at a great distance had used up most of her chakra. Itachi's spirit appeared beside her, still not looking nearly as stern or angry as he would have been while living.

 _"That was reckless."_ His spirit said.

"That was worth it." She countered from the ground, wiping her forehead and flashing a slanted smile.

 _"Hikari, I trusted you to prioritize our child's life over Sasuke's vendetta. You further endangered yourself for the foreseeable future by killing those two."_

"It was a clone, Itachi. My chakra was depleting fast. Besides, what danger will I be in while they're in the middle of a war? Sasuke took out Danzo so there's no second opportunity for him to assassinate them himself. I want to gain his loyalty. And also, what I told you in the months before you died wasn't a lie. There really is a place I can go if I need to hide where no village will ever find me or my secrets again."

 _"Where you speak of is not a place to raise children."_ So then, a spirit could learn hidden information while attached to the Land of the Living.

"But it is a place I could hide one until they became strong enough to fend for themselves. Itachi, it's me that is alive now and unless you can think of a way to change Sasuke's mind without me, I need to help him any way that I can. You have to trust me." Itachi's etheric form moved closer to his living wife and put his hand to her face tenderly.

 _"I do."_ The half-living tag team smiled at each other for a moment, but all to soon it came to an end. To her surprise, Itachi started to fade.

"What's happening?" She asked, worriedly.

 _"I don't know. It feels as if I'm being transitioned into a new state. I can feel myself slipping away."_ Hikari raised an eyebrow, fear creeping into her heart. There was much she did not understand about the pure land. It had always seemed to be that a transition into a new state was a concentual process. She feared she was mistaken. Desperately, Hikari transitioned her hand and arm into ether, in an attempt to catch him and pull him back.

"What?! No, don't leave. We promised each other we would work together! I don't want to live without you!" Hikari had always been independent. She was more than capable of living on her own. Yet now, at the prospect of being separated from him permanently terrified her. Death of a loved one was one thing. Eternal separation of a soul was another. She began to question wether she was the fearless, independent woman she thought she was.

 _"I don't want to leave you. Wait for me, Hikari. I'll come back."_ The form of her lover completely faded away.

"Itachi!" The woman found herself yelling to emptiness. Just as soon as she had reached to touch his hand, he was gone. Now she stood by herself in her kitchen, in her house, in the middle of nowhere, belonging to no nation. For the first time in a long time, she was completely alone.

* * *

For a timeless moment there was nothing but blackness. Then, slowly, the feint sensation of fabric against arms, chest and hands. A hand moved close. To the nape of the neck. Gradually, cells came to life throughout the body and brain.

Life.

Or was it life? Somehow it seemed significantly different. Sensations were muted, and the artificial mind struggled to rapidly integrate the basics of what once was deeply embedded knowledge. All at once, this 'life' grew from what one might have considered infancy to a fully functioning individual's subjective experience. A loud thud hit the ground, and slowly images came into focus. Moonlight shone on water to the right. Tall trees billowed in the wind to the left. Just ahead, a long path in the sand spanned for miles.

 _Who am I?_ The individual thought, memories flashing into consciousness incredibly fast. As soon as the question was asked, it was answered. One step, then two steps out of the darkness. The individual looked around once again.

"Itachi?" A voice came from the left, belonging to a white haired man he remembered very well.

"Where am I?"

* * *

Itachi's back for a surprise visit, y'all! Woo!

I know some of you might be thinking including Tsunade in the fic wasn't needed, but I've been thinking of writing a confrontation between the two of them for about a year so I went and did it. Besides, it accounts for the fact that the two elders literally separated from the cannon story from there on out. Next chapter might come in over a week because of a schedule change but I'll post it as soon as I can. Also wanted to give a quick thanks for the nice reviews I've gotten so far. I love when people brainstorm and share their hopes of what might happen. Thank you so much for those who took the time to share their feedback. You guys rock. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it! Stay tuned. I just got a new job and I'm moving in a month, so it might be another two weeks before I come out with the next chapter.


	5. An Unexpected Reunion

**Hi guys, I know I suck. A lot had been going on at my end (moving, new job, getting ready for grad school etc) so it took me a long time to finish this chapter. But luckily it's nice long one and I have the following one all plotted out! Hopefully you all won't have to wait as long. Anyway, enjoy and stay tuned! Also thank you to the recent reviewers. You guys are great.**

* * *

The pale, bloodless body of a grimacing Zetsu clone fell to the ground at Sasuke's feet. So it was true, Madara had started the war.

Yet Madara's war was none of his concern.

A vague concept in Sasuke's one track mind, the only thing to do was to finish what he had started- to kill Naruto. With Naruto gone, there would be no one to stand in his way. Whatever Madara had planned to spite the allied nations was of no consequence. Because if there were Leaf Village shinobi still alive, if the village was still standing, he would still destroy it. He would not stop until the place he had once foolishly called home was devastated like the compound where he spent his childhood; until it was as grief stricken and lifeless as it had made his own heart. The cruel system that had suppressed and eradicated his family could not be allowed to be left standing. And once he was completely cut off from the bonds that had tied him to the village, the Uchiha could fully be restored.

 _... Just because it's imperfect doesn't mean it's not worth protecting..._

The thought echoed into his consciousness without his willing it to, in a voice that was not his own. Sasuke scowled, pushing the voice of his brother out of his mind and marching forward towards the trees. Making his way further into the shadows towards the battlefield where he had confronted Naruto, his mind zeroed in only to squeezing out every bit of light in the stubborn bastard, and then finally achieving his justice.

* * *

Hikari sat alone in her makeshift house, sitting against the wall and looking blankly at the opposite side of the room. The sun was setting on the second day of the war. It was jarring to be surrounded by fighting with no one to fight for. For a majority of her life, she had lived her life with partnership. As a gennin at the age of seven, she had been assigned a team of three- all privileged young shinobi who for their own reasons needed to be separated from the academy. (It was mostly for conduct disorders, if she was honest.) In Root, she had been in a team of five, though two had been killed by their Uchiha targets, and another by Danzo for betraying them. Even in ANBU after the massacre, she had always taken on missions in a team.

Missions had always told her what to do, even if her last long term one had been self assigned. But what now? For the first time since the age of five, there were no missions and no teammates. For the first time, there was no one she could lean on and there was no one else to support. Listening to three hostile Zetsu clones boredly till her garden, Hikari had a moment of realization that she knew only meant a true coming of age.

In life, ultimately, the only person who would be there to support her had to be herself. No matter how connected to others she might one day become, no matter how bad things were, it was all up to her to decide what to do when there was no one else. The woman sighed, a small pang of fear clinging to her gut. Never before in her life had she felt so uncertain and alone. But life didn't care. It would continue to keep moving and it would decide for her if she didn't decide for herself. It was all up to her now. Hikari's eyebrows furrowed and her fists clenched. She would do what had to be done, even if it meant floundering for a little while.

The woman rose, and made her way out of the cottage. Three Zetsus walked back and fourth with wooden tools, working the land and mumbling to each other in irritation.

"What do you want?" One said upon seeing the woman they had grown tired of.

"Just wanted to see how things were coming is all," she said placing a hand on her hip.

"How do you think it's coming?! We're almost done. All this time we've had nothing to do but fertilize the soil and plant food that we can never eat!" Another accused exasperatedly. The woman shrugged raising her hands.

"I never said you had to help me. Madara is fighting a war and left you to watch me for days. It was just something for you to do. Besides, it's not like I can give you any other options because you won't let me leave." The first Zetsu raised an eyebrow as if in realization.

"Is that an attempt to manipulate us? You know we'll never let you leave. Not while the eye of moon plan is soon to be underway!" She chuckled at that. They had still never suspected that a clone had left and returned to her consciousness days ago.

"Well then if you don't want to sit around doing nothing for days on end you can keep helping me till and plow and water and farm the field or work in the rice patty." The woman set both hands on her hips and slanted her eyebrows fiercely like a scolding mother.

"I've had enough of this. If we set fire to the fields, maybe she'll starve to death," the third Zetsu declared to the others.

"Then I could either kill you and keep running away from the battleground or we could simply start again a little ways away from here. Would you like that?" The three looked at each other, considering their options. "I'm bored out of my mind too, and I'd like nothing but to rid myself of your incessant jabbering. But you forget that whatever fire you start I can put out. As long as I am a master of wood style, you can't kill me in this forest." Now their glances turned amused and they chuckled darkly.

"Master of wood style is that right?" One high, condescending voice teased her. It caused her to hesitate. Had they hidden a wood style ability from her all along?

"I only meant that I've spent my life specializing in it..."

"You think that a mere twenty one years being a wood style user means that you've mastered it? Even at your caliber, your abilities pale in comparison to another woman long ago... You don't even understand the fundamentals of what wood style is," he concluded with mirth.

"You've been hinting about this wood style thing a lot lately. When are you finally going to spit it out?"

"It doesn't matter if we tell you or not. In less than two more days, you will be dead."

"Whatever. The sun has almost set. I'm heading in for the night. You all can try to sleep or whatever it is that you do when you're not spying on people." Hikari sighed and went back inside into her room. She closed her eyes and searched the areas far and wide, gathering her chakra in the event she decided to intervene. Remote viewing spent almost no chakra- she simply had to separate part of her astral body from her physical one and use it to look over vast distances as fast as the spirit could move. But intervening over distance was different.

 _Where is Sasuke?_

She scoured the area close to where she had last left him. Finally she found him. And to her great astonishment, she found another traveling so close to him it had to have been fate. It was Itachi, not alive, but undead.

If she was honest with herself, she would have preferred him to be lost to her sight and at peace in an unknown realm... to this.

* * *

Sasuke didn't spare as much as a glance at the fallen Zetsu around him. For a moment, he calculated the fastest route towards where Naruto might be. If he wanted to fight him, he would have to get past Madara's pursuit in the process. Then, something strange happened. A voice screamed inside his brain, clearly coming from somewhere outside of him.

 _Sasuke! Run strait ahead! Now!_

While it took a moment for him to think and assess what had happened, he could place the voice as the woman named Hikari. For a moment, he thought he might run in the opposite direction. But if he followed her lead, he might be able to verify her true motivations and validity of all of her claims. There was a chance it was an enemy. He held his weapon in front of him, and moved forward.

* * *

Itachi ran swiftly though the trees, glad to be free of his bindings. As a reanimation, his vision was no longer impaired, enabling him to travel undisturbed through the cover of trees. The jutsu caster was just up ahead if Pein's sensory intel had been accurate. And while he would have liked too save Shiui's eye for Sasuke, using it to stop the reanimation was well worth it. A small grim smile crept across his lips. Perhaps after death his bad luck and finally turned for the better.

Yet regardless of this twist of fate, Itachi felt a dull anger well in his stomach. Ghosts of feelings past clung to his heart, weighing him down grief. Whoever cast this jutsu was responsible for re-instilling the pain of hundreds and thousands who were supposed to be at peace; pain and suffering that after being scarred up for years was now fresh in the hearts of all, including himself. Whoever did this, he thought to himself, deserved to soon reach a quick and just death. Itachi ran as fast as he could, mind only on the goal ahead of him: to leave the past in the past.

Just then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw his fate twist once more. For to his left heading in the opposite direction, was a young dark, haired boy. It didn't take more than an instant for him to recognize who the boy was.

An ache filled Itachi's gut at the sight of his brother. He kept running. He knew full well his brother would follow, but he continued running anyway. Itachi's target was the jutsu caster and time was of the essence. He found himself stubbornly pushing away the thought that he was also running away from the source of this feeling. Perhaps in death he had not changed after all.

"Wait!" the boy called. Itachi, filled with shame, could not turn to look into the eyes of the brother whose life he had ruined. "I told you to wait!" Itachi did not turn around, but sensed a semisolid form heading towards him. He turned around if only to deflect the glowing purple skeletal hand with his own Susanoo.

 _"Talk to him!"_ The scolding voice that could only be his wife flashed into his mind for just a moment. He didn't need to be advised; he knew the situation he was in. There was no point in hiding who he was, it was too late. Finally, he forced himself to look into the eyes of his brother. And despite the new knowledge that his brother was now set on destroying the village he had sacrificed everything to protect, it was good to see him. Somehow, Sasuke's accusing eyes disarmed his usual guardedness. No, now that Itachi was somewhat alive, it had to be different. He had to change. To open up like the old Itachi had been afraid to. Perhaps then he could knock some sense into Sasuke.

"I'm impressed. I didn't know you had been able to master it as well, Sasuke." Sasuke was uninterested in flattery. He needed answers. But for now, Itachi was unable to deliver them.

"But what are you even doing here? You're dead!" So Sasuke did not know Madara's plan.

"Kabuto's jutsu. I have become a reanimated shinobi. No time to talk now. There's something important that I have to do." Yet old patterns were hard to shake, and he found himself habitually keeping the boy at a distance, out of necessity.

"So what I don't care! You're here in front of me right now and I have questions for you!" The boy almost shrieked, demanding the truth with a desperate existential need. But Itachi could not afford to indulge him now.

"Ask me later... though you probably won't listen." Itachi felt a dull bitterness weigh at his insides. There was a good chance that after all Sasuke had been through, there were no words Itachi could say that would reach him. After all, the person that had once been Itachi's sole source of light was now in absolute darkness.

"You're the one who told me to come and find you when I had the same eyes as you! Now you want to run away from me? Are you running out of guilt for being a liar? You don't have the courage to tell me the truth." His brother's words stung with the truth he wanted desperately to fight. Never before had he planned on being confronted by Sasuke in this way, after his illusion had been completed following his death. His brother continued. "I already know everything about you anyway. That's why I'm going to destroy the Hidden Leaf!" Itachi felt disarmed, but knowing that Sasuke would not be satisfied without a reply, he attempted a half thought out explanation.

"I told you before when we fought against each other, we each live inside our own fantasies. I asked you to think about it that way, and how one's reality might be an illusion. However, my truth is real*." While Madara might have told Sasuke the secrets behind the coup de tat, Sasuke was mistaken. He did not know his brother. Sasuke's view of himself and the life he lived was filled with holes and misconceptions. It was a view that turned him against the village in the first place. While it was more than likely Sasuke had learned small snapshots of what had transpired during Itachi's years in the Akatsuki, only he possessed the full story.

"I no longer live inside an illusion. And I can see through your genjutsu. These eyes are your eyes!" Sasuke still did not understand. But there was no time yet to restore order to the boy's mind. Why me? What's different about me than our father and mother? Why did you spare only me?!" Itachi knew the shameful truth deep within his heart, but it was so far repressed within him that he could not voice them.

"Because you didn't know anything," Itachi half answered. "You had no part in the Uchiha Clan's folly. You were just a child. And do you think that I did it just for you? I wanted you to grow up and judge me. I deserved to be dealt with only by another Uchiha." Memories of countless hours spent visualizing his own death and the peace he would instill in his brother's heart flashed through his mind. Countless planning and wishing and hoping that ultimately amounted to nothing. "And so I took advantage of the hatred inside you. That's... why I failed." Sorrow welled in the elder Uchiha just as much as it liberated him to tell Sasuke the truth he had only recently realized himself. "Ultimately I only filled you with hatred and made you go rogue... I turned you into a criminal." Anger rose in the elder man's heart, directed at himself. He could imagine the chaos Sasuke's hatred had already caused. The idea that he had sacrificed so much only to send the one who had given him so much light into the same dark and painful path he himself had walked was greater than anything he had ever feared. "Even though all I ever really wanted was for you to walk the right path..." What had gotten into him? He had never been so honest about his true feelings during his life. Yet now that he knew how much pain his lies had caused, he felt telling the truth liberated both of them. It spilled out of him almost uncontrollably. Validating Sasuke's rightful anger was the way to his healing.

"No matter how you change the sign posts, my eyes can strip away all of your lies." Itachi smiled to himself, still inexplicably filled with something akin to ecstasy. It was like a dream to be here, leading him, talking to him more openly about his inner motivations than he had ever even talked with his own wife. He chuckled to himself. "What's so damn funny?" His brother spat, still in the darkness of his hatred. The same blonde haired boy he had told Sasuke to connect with all those years ago flashed again through his mind. Itachi had noticed it back then, when he had entrusted the boy with bringing his brother out of the dark. The blonde had looked at him with the same radiant, confident and determined eyes he had grown intimately familiar with over the final years of his life.

"Nothing, just realizing that the signposts were not your only guides. Properly speaking, I'm dead now. There's no point talking any further."

Itachi sent a murder of crows to set back his brother, just along enough for Itachi to determine his destination was safe enough for the both of them.

* * *

"Don't panic, it's only reanimation," Hikari attempted to reason with herself, pacing back and forth in her kitchen. "He can undo it quickly, and then they will all be in peace... all of them," images of familiar faces raced through her mind, some of who were from history books, others from the Akatsuki. Deidara was currently yelling to his captors from within some sort of a puppet cage. From all she could see, Nagato and Kakuzu were nowhere to be found. "Don't panic," she winced, fighting back knowledge Madara had showed her in his old library once before.

 _"Hidan has no memory of how he became immortal. The jutsu involved created a partial amnesia to separate the life of the dead from the life of the undead. But just as Pain was able to restore the lives of your former villagers at the cost of his traitorous life, there are other ways to revive the dead."_

 _"So he was brought back to life... using the reanimation jutsu?" The masked man nodded._

 _"Good guess. I speculate you are correct. But while the organization achieved full reanimation, the conversion process was flawed. This is why Hidan has vampiric tendencies. He depends on absorbing the life force found in blood for his power, and for his very life itself. However, there are other more effective methods for raising the dead completely."_

 _"That's immoral. Why force the dead to fight once more after they've found their peace? Isn't transforming reality into a peaceful dream your ultimate goal? Why bring about more misery?" Madara chuckled darkly._

 _"It was only a side note. I haven't the ability to reanimate any shinobi."_

Hikari had suspected Itachi's mentor had been hiding a piece of information from her, but had been unable to pick up on it. Now, with Kabuto controlling a formidable army of undead shinobi, a terrible idea creeped into her consciousness.

"Pain isn't here, and neither is Nagato. Even if anyone wished him to, no one could trap Itachi in the flesh." She watched the two Uchiha brothers arrive in the den of the young man she had once half-heartedly considered capturing and later disposing of, and kept her eyes peeled on the battles before her.

"Talk to your brother, Itachi, but don't stay longer than you need to. I'm happy, for your sake, that you have the chance to bring about peace to the ninja world one more time."

* * *

"This time for sure, I'm going to hold you to your promise," Sasuke said, referring to his brother's agreeing to talk with him after they took down the silver haired former servant before them.

"They say you take your personality to the grave. I've already died once. I plan to honor it."

The snakelike man opened his mouth to bear his long tongue, a behavior that was only reminiscent of Orochimaru, a behavior that had always sickened Sasuke.

If they weren't allowed to kill the pathetic man, so be it. Despite the fact he had spent years in shared quarters with this man, he couldn't say he cared whether or not he lived or died. All that he cared about now, was the fact that the same brother he knew nothing about, the brother he would once have given anything for to train with, was here now fighting alongside him. All he cared about was the truth.

"You've studied a lot, Dr. Snakes**," were the exact words that came from his brother's mouth after he explained how snakes operate. "Beware of traps, Sasuke," were the words he spoke next. His brother had lived a life of excruciating pain. He had died fighting him. And yet even now, despite it all, Itachi had still kept his humor about him, and was still protecting him. Sasuke half smiled, and for a moment his eyes flashed with another memory from Itachi's childhood.

He was watching himself, younger, playing hide and seek in the forest. It was strange to see himself through his brother's eyes.***

 _"Found you!" Sasuke cried, shooting a finger out at the crouching Itachi. His little brother looked down at him, eyes glittering brightly with dreams and hope._

 _"Not quite," Itachi said and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Shadow clone. The real Itachi was above Sasuke's head._

 _"Ah no fair!" his brother cried out naively, and abruptly lifted his face. "Ah!" Sasuke caught sight of his brother looking down on him from a thick branch._

 _"Hee hee!" Itachi unconsciously erupted in laughter upon seeing the wild look in Sasuke's face as he stared up at the sky, tilting his head so far back, it seemed like his neck would break. Although Itachi rarely let his feelings show in front of other people, he was naturally able to express what was in his heart to his brother. It was strange._

Kabuto attacked, and the brothers found themselves propelled into another chamber of the cave. It was colder, darker, wetter, and Sasuke found himself blinded temporarily by dust and soot from the crumbling stalactites above. Just as he regained his footing, the air glowed with a familiar red.

* * *

Hikari watched through Madara's orb.. or whatever man she had perviously known... at the scene unfolding before her eyes.

The entire first company had been almost entirely wiped out by who could only be the true Madara Uchiha. Now, in a battlefield of ash and sand and stone, the leaders of the free ninja world stood together, facing the reanimated Uchiha.

'If Itachi is fighting to end the reanimation now... then the only one who can face the real Madara if the reanimation doesn't dispel... is me… This is a battle between the potential first steps towards a unified shinobi nation against a man I no longer understand the motivations of.'

Before now, the Madara she knew had planned to bring about the beginning of an age of eternal peace through dreams. Had that too been the original Madara's plan? Or had the man she used to know taken his name for some other use? And if this Madara sought the infinite tsukuyomi as well, who was she truly in support of at all?'

Just as Hikari considered her options, she saw a shadow at the door. Turning, she was faced with six accusing eyes.

* * *

"Sage art: Lightning scream attack!" Kabuto threw an energetic ball with a dragon, which coiled in midair. Bright white light and deafening sound burst forth from the orb. Sasuke screamed and grimaced, holding his ears in desperation. His bones rattled and all there senses seemed to be put on hold. Glancing to his side, he saw his brother was in much the same state. Unable to move an inch, Sasuke was just barely able to see Kabuto running towards them, uninhibited. He ran towards Itachi.

 _Move... you've got to save him..!_ Sasuke silently willed to himself, to no avail. Then at the last second, he changed directions. Just in time, Sasuke was encased in the Susanoo of his brother.

"Itachi... somehow you are always able to find me... What sets you apart from your clan brethren is that you have true visual prowess. You can peer right into people's souls and read them, and then use what you learn against them in battle." Kabuto had no idea how right he was. Sasuke thought back to all of the times it seemed as if Itachi had every idea what lied inside his heart, even more than he himself did. "That is why you are so good at deceiving people. You died a genius... a genius at lying."

 _"Big brother, I'm home!" Sasuke had said one day after the academy. Itachi had been in his room a lot more lately when he was not busy with missions. On this particular day, Sasuke had learned that his brother would be arriving back at the house before him, and had spent all of the school session looking forward to their reunion. Sasuke had expected him to come out and at least wave. Instead, he found the house completely silent. Walking quietly through the halls, he listened for any sign of life. Finally, in the meeting room far on the other side of the house, Sasuke overheard the feint voices of his parents behind closed doors._

 _"Itachi, I'm worried about you. You're not eating with us; you barely even speak with anyone. It wouldn't hurt you to spend just a little time out of your room when you're home!"_

 _"Mikoto, it's been over ten years since you retired from your days as a jounin squad leader," this time the calm but stern voice of his father could be heard. "Back then, before the war, you were always called away for use of your infiltration expertise. But you cannot understand the demands put on an ANBU ten years later. Since the war, the missions assigned in the village have increased by a sizable percent. Even if he wanted to, Itachi is just going to have less time with us for the time being. There's no way around it."_

 _"Fugaku this isn't healthy. How long do you expect him to keep it up at this pace?"_

 _"He's my son, and he's exceptional."_

 _"That might be true, but he's only just thirteen."_

 _"Mother, if I might interject," Itachi chimed in, causing Sasuke to quiet his breathing. "You really don't need to worry about me at all. My missions take time, but my squad is highly skilled. The missions themselves haven't been costly in terms of energy. I have other clan duties to fulfill, that's why I must spend more time outside of the compound…." Sasuke gasped having spent too much time holding his breath. As he did, both Itachi and his mother looked towards the screen door. It was true that over the last several months he had become more skilled at infiltration, but he was still from the Uchiha clan, whose senses were keen. His brother stood up, and opened the door._

 _"Sasuke," his brother stated, expressionless._

 _"What are you doing listening in on this conversation!? You should know better than that!" His father accused. His voice had always been harsh in the rare situation he actually wanted to hear the words of his youngest son._

 _"Sorry…"_

 _"Sasuke was just about to knock, Father, because I had told him that I would help him practice his jutsu after class. We had a lot planned, so we should probably get started. Mother, will you need any help preparing for dinner?" Their mother smiled gratefully._

 _"No, Itachi. You go on ahead." To Sasuke's amazement, his elder brother closed the screen door on his parents to look down at him._

 _"Come Sasuke, let me show you how to hide from skilled ninja like Mother and Father more effectively. Then we'll do shuriken practice._

 _…..._

 _Sasuke threw his last two throwing stars, one which hit the other, bending it and landing an inch and a half from the center of the target on the tree. Beside him, Itachi leaned against the large boulder, lost in his private thoughts._

 _"Itachi… um… I wonder.." the sound of his voice pulled his brother away from his silent contemplations. "You never usually have time to help me train. Is the reason you're helping me today because you wanted to get away from Mother and Father?" Itachi slowly blinked, putting on an unreadable expression._

 _"You've improved in erasing your presence. How much did you hear?" Sasuke wondered if he was going to try to distract from the question again._

 _"Just the ending, I think." Itachi looked off into the distance for a time. Finally he spoke with his eyes closed._

 _"Father is much too harsh on you. He's completely blind to how far you've come. Perhaps if you had been born before me he would see your true potential." Sasuke's eyes widened. He didn't know how to respond to his brother's acknowledgement. Itachi opened his eyes and smiled at him in a way that appeared genuine enough._

 _"That's why I want to help you get stronger. I've told you before, you have the potential to surpass me. And when you do, Father will have no choice but to acknowledge you." Sasuke doubted his brother's words. No matter how hard he tried, it had never been close to enough. As long as Itachi was around to be compared to, he would be a disappointment. But Itachi's words had unlocked a deep desire from within his heart, and validated him. Whatever they had been talking about in the meeting room was no longer of any importance. What mattered was that he was seen. What mattered was that in this rare moment, Sasuke felt close to the brother that mattered so much to him._

 _On the way home, they had stopped to get dessert for their dinner. Sasuke walked alongside him so he could hold the brown paper bag. Itachi had become quiet again, and his mother's words echoed in his head._

 _"Itachi…." Sasuke dared to ask the other question in his heart. "Are you okay?" Itachi looked down at him once more and smiled._

 _"Don't worry about me, Sasuke. I've just been tired. That's all." After dinner and desert, Itachi returned to his room where he stayed awake with the lights on into the night. Even Sasuke was uncertain what he did in there. He didn't come to the table the next night, or for the rest of the week. It would be one and a half months later when Sasuke would open a door to find the brother he had admired so much standing over their parents' corpses._

Looking back on the memory, Sasuke marveled at how Itachi had been able to disarm him by saying exactly what he wanted to hear. In retrospect, Itachi had probably stayed in his room because he was sick to his stomach with fear of his family's future. How hard would it have been to walk amongst the clan and eat along side his family when he saw the walls closing in on such a grim fate? Yet even then, he had taken the time to train with his brother once and a while, in hopes that no matter what happened, his brother would become strong.

Sasuke growled at the man who knew nothing of his brother and attacked with a bolt of lightning. Itachi had had no choice but to lie and hide himself back then. And Sasuke wouldn't let such a pathetic excuse of a person insult or tarnish his brother's memory. Now the snake hung from the ceiling, continuing his incessant talk.

"You truly think that a makeshift team of two people who hate each other can outwit my perception skills and stop me? And because your brother lied so much you know nothing about him and you will never trust each other." Sasuke looked over at his elder brother, who looked towards the ground, eyes closed. He could tell his brother acknowledged the truth in the words. After all, even fighting alongside each other, there was still so much doubt clouding Sasuke's mind about Itachi. There was still so much leftover hurt from their shared past. This was the price Itachi paid for hiding his own truth his whole life. Sasuke knew that in the short time he had with him, the distance between them would never be closed.

* * *

"What do you want?" Hikari sighed, looking at the three figures standing at her door. They barged in to the house.

"Spying on the battlefield are we? Did you really think we wouldn't find out if you were watching the war using stolen artifacts?" The pale faced Zetsu sneered. Indoors, Hikari now realized that the three clones did in fact, have no detectable scent.

"On the contrary, I assumed you already knew," she mumbled, rolling her eyes and returning to the purple orb along with her lunch of rice and vegetables.

"If you're thinking of getting involved, I'll remind you that we have the authority to enter this house at any time to ensure you cannot escape."

"I don't know how many more times I can say it. I'm not afraid of you. I promised Madara that I would not set foot on his battlefield. Then again… it seems that I didn't promise Madara anything at all…" her eyes returned to the scene in the orb in front of them where they remained intensely glued. The three Zetsu clones stood around her, watching the same scene.

"So the real Madara has been reanimated," another Zetsu stated sounding unsurprised. "The secret's finally been revealed to them."

"You knew?" Hikari said with a furrowed brow.

"We all knew. Ever since the previous war. Even if you do kill us and try to interfere, you wouldn't be able to withstand Madara. As a reanimation, his chakra is unlimited."

"I see that…" she mumbled, fixated on the battle before her. No, even if she used Hashirama's largest wood style jutsu, even if she could withstand his mangyekyo sharingan and blast through his susanoo with a sound wave, her chakra was limited. Even if she conjoined her attacks with the five Kage, eventually their energy would run out. Whatever wood style attacks she had he seemed to have access to somehow. Even if she were to bypass his susanoo by turning into ether and then hit him physically, it might not be enough to seal him away. Furthermore, from this distance she was unclear what his motivations were. He was clearly not being controlled. Why then did he fight so ruthlessly?

"Very well then, we will let you watch. But if we see you attempt to interfere, we'll use our telepathic signal with the other Zetsu to send reinforcements and hunt you down. You won't be able to escape us forever."

Hikari did not answer their threat. Instead she simply continued watching the scene before her.

 _What can I do? What should I do?'_ she thought to herself. Certainly, with any number of Zetsu watching her, she could not slip out unseen. And even if she was able to deceive them and produce another clone, to what end? In what direction would she run?

* * *

Hope you enjoyed it. That was certainly a clunky part to write but soon hopefully we can be done with the war arc and get into the aftermath of the war, which is kind of what I started writing this fanfic for in the first place! I had to make a decision about how much restating of cannon chapters I wanted to include. In the end I decided to do some, because I thought it was important to write this fight from the perspective of the brothers. It never goes into how they think and feel about the whole ordeal and I think it's really special. All these flashbacks might be annoying too, but they'll go somewhere. I promise.

Below I've included three sources of some of my writing for this chapter and why they were noteworthy. I don't own any Naruto characters, obviously.

* " However, my truth is real." This is verbatim a line from Itachi and it is my opinion the stupidest thing he's ever said. Mr. Existentialism over here always preaches about the subjective nature of everyone's reality and yet here for some reason he decides to say this? I, a nerd, often puzzled over this thinking it might be a mistranslation but it's not. So I wrote this scene out with his thought process to try and justify why he said the things he said, especially this stupid line.

** "You've studied a lot, Dr. Snakes." This, once again is the actual English translation to the official Japanese line. For real. And I, for one, am digging it. I wanted to highlight it so you all knew that is not a mistranslation if you ever read the manga. Chrispin Freeman says it wrong and a lot of japanese subtitles have the line wrong too so I double checked by listening to the japanese and translating it into english myself.

*** This is an excerpt from a scene in the first book of the Itachi Shinden.


	6. Breakthroughs and Breakouts

**Hey guys! Sorry it's been so long. I want everyone to know I have no plans to abandon this project. My graduate classes and field placement and work take up almost all of my time, and this chapter needed a lot of work so I could properly show Itachi's inner growth during his fight with Kabuto once more. Soon we'll be out of the Great Ninja war and then I can show you what future lies in store for the Uchiha and Senju. Just know I'm doing the best I can to get these out! Thank you for those who are sticking with me through the completion of this story. Your reads, reviews and messages mean a lot.**

* * *

Water dripped from the tops of the cave as precious minutes passed and the battle raged on.

Itachi jumped at Kabuto, who pierced him with his own sword. Entirely numb to physical pain, Itachi took the brief window to concentrate his chakra into his eyes. The colors of the cave became more vivid as he concentrated, eye turning white for only a moment. Just as soon as the jutsu was cast, Kabuto countered.

* * *

The battle wore on for a time, but Itachi could still feel no drain on his chakra. If the object of the battle were to kill Kabuto, it would have been easier. But to ensnare him in his multisensory jutsu without ending his life was more of a challenge. With another foolish attempt to turn the tide with words, Kabuto continued droning on regarding their respective motivations. Itachi took the opportunity to listen to Sasuke's response.

"I want the truth," his younger brother explained, with determined eyes. It was a determination Itachi would not betray him, no matter what half-lies the snake man came up with. Kabuto was not like Sasuke in the least bit.

Yet when Kabuto began to tell his story, it was his own ears it reached. Kabuto, two years older than himself, had also grown up in war. He too became who he was on the battlefield, far too young. And over time he became a spy as well, erasing the little sense of himself he had. Even more compelling, he too had risked everything he had to serve the village, only to be betrayed and stripped of all his closest bonds. In a sense, Kabuto truly did understand a similar pain to his own. Then why had he turned to fight against his former home?

It was because while they had been dealt similar hands, their morals were different. To Kabuto, a village that allowed his individual needs to be unmet in the crossfire of war was did not deserve to be called home. In contrast, he himself had decided to sacrifice his own needs until the end, if only to bring justice to his brother. For him, the less suffering caused by war took precedence over any self enforced sense of fairness. Kabuto might have come from similar roots, but he chose to wage a war much larger than the one that caused him pain to begin with. Kabuto's accusations were not baseless, and from the look on Sasuke's face, they resonated with him.

"Sasuke don't listen to him… no matter what darkness and contradictions lie within the village, I am still Itachi Uchiha of the Leaf. It's my fault you're like this right now." His heart hurt to say the words. It became more certain that the only way to ease the confusion in his brother's mind was to tell him the truth. How much truth he still did not know. "I know I have no right to advise you in any way, but I sincerely hope you'll hear me out because I have to tell you something."

"Sage Art, Inorganic Animation!" Kabuto yelled, and before anything could be done, Itachi found himself pierced by several large stalactites.

* * *

In her cottage, Hikari scarfed down a third bowl of rice, eyes peeled on the purple orb before her. As the sun fully set, so too did the future of the allied shinobi nations, or so it seemed.

Madara had the five Kage beat. Even with her super human strength, Tsunade had been stabbed in the stomach and forced to use her forehead seal. Astonishingly, Madara had infused the cells of his former rival onto his chest above his heart, enabling him to use wood style clones. Behind her, three Zetsu clones watch, also fascinated.

"It seems that Madara will win this fight without a problem," one remarks. "I wonder, Senju, if you were not confined to this cottage, which side would you fight on?" The woman sighed, rolling her head to the side.

"I don't know... Madara might be strong, but I don't see how he could actually take control of every single person on Earth. Even if he did, it would be wrong. What good would a world of peace be if the population could not wake up to share it with future generations?"

"So you side with the allied shinobi forces, then?" Another Zetsu asked. Hikari's expression grew dark and contemplative.

"The allied shinobi forces came into being out of necessity. If Madara is defeated, there will be no need for an alliance. The shared war will bring nations closer, but aside from the past week, what has changed? One week of wartime cannot undo centuries of cultural trauma. No; for nations to come together much more work must be done. Until then, the Five Great Nations will not be my home." Her eyes trailed back to the purple orb, and she proceeded to serve herself another helping of vegetables. The three men eyed her, amused. When she returned to her seat, Madara had begun to summon a toxic jungle. Hikari let out several vulgar curses at the new development.

"What's gotten into you? You've been acting quite unlike yourself lately," the first white creature said.

"You've been eating a lot too!" the third observed. Hikari laughed at the remarks, and at the bizarre turn her life had taken overall. To have been in the Akatsuki a mere few months ago, and now being held hostage by these strange pale naked creatures who would not give her a moment's peace. She let out an exasperated sigh.

"Do you really want to know why? I'll trade you secret for secret. Who is the master of wood style you keep hinting at? Why are you so interested in my kekkei genkai?" Her tone of voice was almost demanding. The men looked to each other, and nodded.

"Deal," the third Zetsu sneered. Hikari's demeanor became quiet and contemplative.

"I'm pregnant," she declared, solemnly. The ordinarily irritated and brutal creatures lightened up in surprise.

"Ah, so that's it. We had always wondered if your friendship with Itachi was more than met the eye. Was your bond really so strong that you risked such a commitment as a rogue ninja?" Hikari reached into a pouch to display her concealed ring. She looked at her captors with certainty.

"I love him even now. I'll take my love for him to the grave. Now spit it out. What about you all? What's your end of the deal?"

"Kaguya is the keeper of the sacred tree. She will return soon. And when she does, this battlefield will become her garden to take back all the chakra that is rightfully hers."

"I don't believe in fairytales, Zetsu. Tell me the truth."

"That is the truth. Very soon, all of you shinobi will be one with the Great Mother." Hikari looked down, distracted now from the fight.

 _This is bad. Whatever might happen, I have to intervene now before it's too late._

* * *

"Itachi!" Sasuke shouted. The elder brother who had always strived to protect him could not help but feel guilty, and not just for being imperfect.

With his greatest threat immobilized, Kabuto attempted to rewrite the jutsu formula to control him once more.

 _Sasuke, this time I'll let you take the lead. Show me how much you've grown._

Itachi's wish was granted, for his brother cleverly created a ring of black flames around the both of them. Oddly enough, the heat took its toll on the limestone, and the daggers that pierced his torn up body disappeared. Itachi hunched over, waiting for the jutsu to repair his half dead body.

"Sasuke… I'm sorry," he managed, looking down at the ground.

 _He's more than capable of handling himself now. I trust in his strength. Why then am I filled with shame? Why is my desire to protect him still just as deep and strong as when he was a child?_

Kabuto thought of himself far too highly. His hubris would be his downfall; that was clear. Yet when he spoke of himself as if he were the ultimate shinobi, Itachi could not help but think back to several years in his youth before the massacre. It was humiliating to think of it now. If he were honest with himself, it was his illness, not the massacre, that truly killed the hubris within his own mind not so many years ago.

"You think that a name and a place to call home is meaningless? It's not. It does hold meaning for me!"

Itachi thought over the man's words. A memory rose from the far recesses of his mind; from the few years before his massacre. It was there, spying on his family through a telescope that he often struggled with his identity. Had he been more Uchiha or more Leaf Ninja? It was even further back, evading scornful classmates on his way back to the compound that the question first entered his mind. Even on the final days before his downfall, standing on the roof of the Hokage's house, overlooking his entire homeland, that he had dug deep into his core. What bond had clung the tightest to his heart? Family or ideology? Heart or mind? Ultimately, he concluded, there was only one thing that determined who lived and who died. He had to do what he couldn't not do.

 _But why had he been completely unable to kill his younger brother?_

Now, Kabuto transformed the flesh in his abdomen into ninja Itachi presumed he had worked with in the past. Cobwebs lined the back of the cave while large bones protruded from the ground in front of them. It was Sasuke this time who proposed a plan. And it was the correct one. Itachi left his brother's side for a moment while he used Amaterasu to create an opening into the back of the cave. One swipe from the red susanoo and the threat at the front was finished. Catching up to him, the two glowed red and purple in preparation to attack.

"Are you okay Sasuke?" Why was he still so overprotective? Suddenly Itachi heard the sound of a flute, and immediately they became immobilized. To Sasuke's shock and to Itachi's great discomfort, Orochimaru's true form emerged from his former servant's body. It was clear by how the man thanked his brother with a strained voice that Kabuto had actually grieved a great deal at the loss of his former master. But that was not the point.

"Kabuto, you are not Orochimaru. It's fine to imitate someone you respect, but do not transform yourself into them to that extent." Kabuto raised his voice teasingly in reply.

"Do you realize a majority of people end up imitating someone they admire don't you? Just like Sasuke emulated you." The man was right. For years Sasuke strove to model himself after the brother he admired so much. Even though the young boy had no idea who his older brother truly was or anything about the life he had lived.

 _Why had I never been able to let Sasuke in? Why had I been so terrified to allow him to see what was inside my heart?_

"If you attach yourself value to something external to you, even something admirable and praiseworthy, then you gain nothing. I'll say it one last time. Don't mislead yourself with lies." Why did it feel as if his words were a vulnerable self-disclosure? Why did he feel shame? Itachi had never determined his self worth from what other's thought. Yet something deep inside him was being triggered. "Those who cannot acknowledge themselves will invariably fail." His words evidently triggered defensive rage in their opponent, for he unleased the black haired snake creature which charged towards them. Their predicament was not a difficult one. With a mutual genjutsu of their own, they released themselves from illusion. Within moments, the snake figure was immobilized. Kabuto's head sunk, and Itachi knew he was crying. The man fell to the floor, but just before Itachi could unleash the Izanami, Kabuto unleashed one last surprise.

Instantly, he launched from the ground right at is ideological attacker, and Itachi found himself sliced completely in two.

* * *

Hikari smiled at the scene before her as the two brothers ran around the cave. Her husband had finally gotten to spend some time with his brother, just as he had probably deeply wished for his entire life. And she was proud of him.

If all went well, Itachi would control Kabuto with the Izanami just as he had her. With the jutsu released, Madara and the other reanimations would be liberated from this realm. Yet that notion alone did not ease her new worry.

If what the Zetsu Clones say is right, then the allied shinobi force is still in danger. I don't know what this Sacred Tree could do, but if they plan on turning the battlefield into a garden and stealing chakra, I have to find a way to stop it.

The woman rose from her chair and sighed.

"It's late. I'm turning in for the night. If the war somehow comes to an end, you can alert me. Until then, you can watch me from outside my home." She gestured to the door. The white creatures eyed her suspiciously, but agreed to exit the cabin.

"Don't forget, just because the Allies fought off a majority of us, it doesn't mean you have any more chance of escaping than before. More than two hundred of us still remain and you are two hours away from Madara." Hikari nodded before they closed the door. Alone, a growing nervousness rose in the woman's heart. Her hand fell to her lower abdomen.

 _I have to find a way of alerting the allied shinobi force of Zetsu's plan. And I haven't enough chakra to create another clone. But how can I intervene without risking the life of my child?_

* * *

"Sasuke.." Itachi heard his mouth speak as he painlessly fell to the ground. Helpless against the turn of time, Itachi watched his brother fight on his own for a moment. Sasuke shot fire at his attacker who countered with a water wall. The water was more powerful, and Sasuke was put at a disadvantage. Itachi couldn't stand to bear it. He took the advantage of the mist, and ran as fast as he could towards their opponent. He lunged at the man's sword, letting it pierce his abdomen. His eye grew white. He recalled that the only other time he had used this jutsu was not so long ago, to stop his wife's self-righteous suicide.

 _Sasuke.. it is true that even if I were still made of living flesh and blood, I would have happily died for you…._

The ephemeral thought combined with the Izanami brought a memory to the forefront of his mind. It was a memory he had long since repressed...

It was at the age of five, in the days following the end of the Third Great Shinobi War that Itachi had questioned the meaning of his existence. How could he have continued to function through all of the pain and trauma if there was no reason for it? It was none other than Orochimaru that had given him his first answer: Life had no meaning. Filled with emptiness and utter chaos, he had left the mass funeral to stand at the edge of the cliff at the Nakano river. He had jumped and taken a long fall towards the rapids below before his primal survival instinct had taken over. Filled with terror, he had dug kunai into the rock, just barely slowing down enough to land without breaking anything. On the rocky floor by the water, a large crow stood looking at him with black eyes that seemed to peer into his soul. Itachi recalled the black birds surrounding him, and feeling at peace in their presence.

 _Stay._ They seemed to guide him, as if in divine intervention. Not wanting his mother to worry, Itachi had found his way back up by teaching himself how to walk up the cliff, taking his appreciation for the crows in his mind with him. It was in the next couple months that Itachi did his best to prevent himself from spiraling into oblivion.

And then Sasuke was born. It was in those first moments of meeting his younger brother that he had been filled with a warmth he had never known, peering into the face of something so small and so vulnerable and so pure. In the war plagued world they lived in where he had felt so alone, there was now someone who shared the same flesh and blood. He wanted to protect that one life, that one piece of innocence, at all costs.

Now Itachi understood. In a life that had been devoid of meaning, Sasuke had been his salvation. He had been his reason for continuing to exist. And unlike Kabuto whose identity was wrapped up in trying to become others, Itachi's identity had been wrapped up in the role he had been given in his brother's life. All this time, Itachi had deceived himself into believing the reason he had lived and died for the boy standing behind him was simply because he had been innocent and shared the same blood. But that had been his first delusion. Itachi's undead heart burned with the truth of what lied at his core.

The truth was that since that day, he had clung to the idea of Sasuke unhealthily, with a deep intensity that made him deeply ashamed. After all, the eldest Uchiha was supposed to be nearly invincible. Like Orochimaru to Kabuto, Sasuke had given him his very sense of purpose. In fact, Itachi had built his whole world around his brother. He could not show Sasuke all of himself back then because as a young boy he had been too afraid to show Sasuke how much he truly needed him.

But now it was different. Sasuke was older and searching for his own truth. This was the last time they would be together. With a sigh, Itachi looked away from Kabuto, who stood paralyzed under his hand. He had made his decision.

* * *

Hikari rose from where she sat, having made her own decision as well.

 _"Just because it's imperfect doesn't mean it's not worth protecting."_ The words echoed through her mind one last time.

"This is the only way, my darling," she mumbled to the life in her womb. "I already know you're going to be so strong. We'll be alright," The woman crept silently to the corner, where she slipped all of the remaining chi patches she had onto different points on her body. If Itachi had been around, he would have been livid. Just like the seal used by her aunt, the tools of her creation increased her chakra, but not without costs to her health and lifespan.

But she had to do what she couldn't not do. She donned her equipment, swords, and bow.

Even if she exited through the window silently, invisibly, with all traces of her presence erased, she would have fifteen minutes at best before they realized she was gone. Then she would have to fight. Summoning her energy, the woman projected her thoughts towards the man she had once known as Madara.

 _"The Zetsus plan to summon a great tree to siphon away everyone's chakra! You might have lied about who you really are, but I know that is not the peace that you want. Hold the plan off as long as you can. I'm going back on my promise."_

Leaving behind a meditating clone with a small portion of her chakra, the woman slipped into the wood of her home and out the back as ether.

* * *

Sasuke still had too many questions rattling through his mind.

"I understand the Izanagi and the Izanami. But why? Why did you even bother casting this jutsu on Kabuto?" Itachi would give him only the truth.

"He reminds me of the old me… I stopped listening to what anyone else said. And I stopped letting myself trust anybody." It felt as if he was his thirteen year old self talking to the younger Sasuke. "I understand him too well. He can't forgive himself or accept himself for who he truly is… my chance has passed me by. But he can still forgive himself." The pain and remorse that used to come with that realization was no longer there. In death, Itachi had made peace with his failures. Somehow, after death in the short hours of his reanimation, his perfectionism had faded away. For what was the point in striving for perfection when the end result was only failure? If he had simply come forth to his brother or any of his family, he wouldn't have been so easily manipulated by Danzo.

"He is not like you! No, you were perfect-" It was a view Itachi knew his brother still held. The idealism of the past had returned full force after learning what he could of his brother's truth. It was this distorted reality he hoped to correct.

"I was unable to trust your strength. I thought you needed my protection." Itachi looked up and thought of the bold woman who had taught him to trust and have faith once more. "It may be that a perfect being does not exist at all in the world. Sometimes two people that appear to be complete opposites are actually two sides of the same coin and can only succeed when they work together." As if it was yesterday, he thought of his long-haired wife laying beside him in the grass after their last battle, having succeeded in becoming the strongest fighters they could ever be. "Look inside yourself and find what I could never find in me. However, do not ever say that I was perfect." The shame he had become aware of still stung, but less so now. "First off, I should have appreciated and acknowledged the person I was. Then I wouldn't have had to lie to anyone."

Sasuke looked at him speculatively, and Itachi could still see the doubt in his eyes. Itachi had faith that Sasuke would find his own answers, and that Naruto would lead him back to the light. Itachi's time on Earth had almost come to an end.

"Now, I will stop the reainimation."

"But brother, you'll go too?" For a moment, Itachi thought of how wonderful it would have been to spend years and years becoming closer with his younger brother and giving him the time he deserved. It had once been his deepest wish. But life had not been fair to either of them, and the longer he waited the weaker the allied shinobi would become. After the war was over, this would no longer be Itachi's world. It was time he passed on his will of fire to his brother with new eyes, and to the future of the Uchiha.

"But I will have protected my village. I am Itachi Uchiha of the Leaf once again." His voice grew quiet as he felt a new inner peace rise within his chest. There was one last thing he had left to do.

* * *

Hikari rushed as silently as she could towards the battlefield. The man she had once known as Madara was completely preoccupied. He had not sent a signal to any white Zetsu yet. The real Madara, however, was towering above the Five Kage in the same perfect Susanoo she had seen drawn in the story books of her youth.

 _I have to get there in time! I'm the only one who can stop this now. And yet they're all so far away._

The woman crazily scanned the terrain with her sensory abilities in search for potential threats, while remote viewing the scene up ahead.

 _Itachi… if only you were able to stay just an hour longer. The two of us together could put Madara's onslaught to an end._

The Kage's death's would turn the tide of battle, but if Madara were defeated, each village leader could be easily replaced. It was for this reason that escaping without resulting in a full scale battle was of the utmost importance. If Madara had any idea of her wood style jutsu, there would be no way for her to gain the upper hand in the offensive.

Unfortunately, life was never that simple. Halfway through the forest, the woman heard a loud chorus of frustrated shrieks coming from behind her. The clones had discovered her ploy. Cursing underneath her breath, the woman began to move silently through the forest, running as fast as she could, erasing as much of her presence as she could muster.

Seven minutes later, the clones would be upon her and the battle would begin.


	7. Towards War

**Hi all! Okay okay I know I suck for not coming out with this chapter until now. I've been struggling with writers block (not regarding what this story will become but how to get through the freakin war.. plus this semester kicked my butt in terms of personal life crises so chaos just got in the way.) Regardless, you can trust that I will be continuing with the story as soon as I possibly can, perhaps even getting another chapter out within the next couple weeks. Also, I've been thinking about posting some deleted scenes from the previous story that I decided not to put in because they furthered the ItaHika friendship/relationship but not the plot. And maybe a scene of Hikari fighting Diedara if I get to it. Message me if you think I should post those one day! Anyways, enjoy what I have so far.**

* * *

Sasuke looked at his brother's back, wondering if the last fight had meant anything to him at all. Had the battle changed anything? Even in death, he was in the dark when it came to what his elder brother was thinking. No matter the change in circumstance, there was still distance that would never be crossed. Itachi commanded the first few seals.

"Even if you protect the village now, I will destroy it someday," Sasuke's resolved confident voice echoed through the cave.

Itachi continued with the seals, but felt a lurch in his stomach. What the current Sasuke wished could not be allowed to happen. But now he knew there were others he could trust to show him the light. Furthermore, Sasuke was in a period of transition. His new knowledge of his brother's life might push him further into the dark at first, but that was because he was only human, and anger was often a part of grief. There was still something Itachi had left to do. His final gift before departing and largely resolving the Fourth Great Ninja War, was to plant the seeds of closure into his brother's suffering heart.

Itachi ordered Kabuto to make the last hand sign. And with it, he knew he could not turn back no matter what. No matter how he might want to talk with Sasuke forever and ever, any less time would be far too high a price to pay. With these last words, peace would return to the ninja world in time. And more importantly than all of that, peace would return to his younger brother's heart.

"There is still time. I can feel myself slowly losing consciousness now. I must tell you everything before I say goodbye and we part for good. There is no need to lie anymore. The night I left you, I did everything Danzo and Tobi told you I did. I'll show you the entire truth..."

It was then, that through the years of shame and self delusion, Itachi gathered up every single piece of himself. Every single memory and thought and feeling Sasuke needed to know was brought forth into his heart and mind. He took ownership of them all. They tore through the core of his being all at once and released through his eyes like a vision. He looked into the face of his younger brother, who had recieved the very pieces of his soul he had so desperately yearned for.

Itachi had never felt so intimately linked with another human being before now.

 _All this time, I never faced it... I thought that it was because you were my brother.. but it was always more than that. Since the very beginning of you and me, we have truly needed each other. I cherished you to my core. You were my reason for living, and I was yours. Now you must pave your own way.. and I believe that in time, you will find your way back home.  
_

"There's nothing more to say. I have told you the whole truth. I won't have to ever again. I have.. always lied to you and asked for your forgiveness for keeping you at a distance.. because I wanted to keep you out of this. But now I think.. that perhaps you could have changed Father, Mother and the rest of the Uchiha as well. If I had only come to you from the start, looked straight into your eyes and told you the truth, then I wouldn't have to stand before you as a failure, telling you all of this. But I want to impart at least this much truth to you. You don't ever have to forgive me. And whatever you do from here on out, know this. No matter what..."

Itachi had always had a hard time being accustomed to much physical contact. He had simply gone too much of his life without. But now, there was no more hesitation or fear of vulnerability. Out of the purest desire to simply acknowledge the depth of their connection, Itachi placed his hand on his younger brother's head, almost cradling it to pull him closer. There, he rested their brows together and genuinely smiled. It was the purest expression of his love that he could think of.

 _These are the truest words I have ever spoken._

"I will love you always."

His brother gasped, and seconds later the last strands of consciousness Itachi had clung to dissolved into warm light. His soul ascended from a body like once before, and he felt himself return to a place of peace where time did not exist in the same way. Itachi took one last look at his brother and saw every other moment Sasuke had looked up at him all at once, even from the first moments of their existence together.

 _Thank you, Sasuke. Being able to live as your brother made me... happy._

* * *

Two hours later, Hikari hacked through another Zetsu clone, pulling a bloodless blade out of his abdomen. She heaved and wiped her brow, readying herself for the next onslaught.

 _How many have I killed? What time of night is it?_

The Zetsu clones in the forest wisely concluded that strength in numbers was only an asset if they took her by surprise. It was in both of their interests, however. If Hikari used larger attacks this close to the battlefield, it ran the risk of being detected by Madara. It took all of her brainpower to use her remote viewing in the darkness. Deep in the dark forest, she waited, desperately trying to sense when the next might attack.

 _I don't understand. Why is it so much harder for me to sense them? Why can they stay out of most of my sensory range?_ Hikari had long pondered the origin of their plantlike appearance. After spending time confined in her cabin with them, she had begin to believe the stories that they had indeed been created from Hashirama Senju's chakra. _Still... Hashirama loved the village. It doesn't explain why creatures like these are in the Akatsuki._

A poison kunai shot through the air behind her, directed at her head. The woman expertly dodged, and felt vertigo take over her sense of space for a moment. She was exhausted. Without turning, the woman shot a wooden bolt at the creature who had fired. He fell down crumpled to the ground. Just as soon as he did, another sprang at her from atop a tree with an evil grin. Hikari met his blade with hers, growling.

"Why won't you leave me alone?! Give up! Didn't you see? Madara isn't even your master anymore!" The creature gave a sinister chuckle as Hikari's blade tore through his stomach and up into his chest. Another creature grabbed her ankle from underground. The woman gasped and sent roots into the ground to pierce him. Her chakra was running low. She flipped away, and placed a chi patch on her right upper arm. _Each one of these I use runs a little more risk of impacting the baby. I'm sorry love, it's been a hard night. This will all be over soon._

"For a woman who worked closely with the man you once knew as Madara, he certainly didn't tell you much. Perhaps he viewed you merely as a tool after all." The woman's eyebrows furrowed, looking up in the direction the voice came from. It was far enough away and there were enough moving figures that it was impossible to pinpoint the speaker.

"Wait... so you knew?"

* * *

Sasuke stood alone in the dark cave, listening to the water drip from the ceiling to the ground. In his mind, flashes of his brother now remained, stronger than before.

...Itachi beaming up at their father, feeling proud to walk beside him down the streets of the first compound...

...Itachi lazily eating his dinner, watching his rather alert brother scrutenise him from in his highchair...

...Itachi sharing dumplings with Shishui and talking about the world the way they saw it...

It was these early memories, before the world turned so dark for him that Sasuke found himself first embracing, then fighting to push out of his mind. Then, more vivid visions of Itachi running through a battlefield with hundreds of fallen shinobi strewn on the bloody ground soon followed. Sasuke understood by now that his brother had always been too gentle and kind to tolerate a violent clash, even if it resulted in a more just world.

The trauma of his early childhood, Sasuke thought, was the reason why his brother could not permit a new revolution. If Itachi's life had caused him to work for peace and avoid more bloodshed as a weakness, then Sasuke's own life was the solution. His own brother had taught him to have a strong resolve. He had taught him to seek justice. That was why Sasuke would go against his brother's wishes. He was doing what Itachi could not do, for the both of them. He would rid the world of the corrupt Leaf like his brother had unintentionally prepared him for.

The visions lightly swirled around Sasuke's eyes and senses, bringing him closer and closer to understanding his brother and the world he had been too young to see. While some gave him a sense of closure, others only created more questions. He wanted so badly to take each one apart, but knew that the same pressing questions that used to nag the heart of his five year old brother now needed to be answered. For the first time, Sasuke was uncertain, and he didn't like it.

 _What is a clan? What is a village? What are shinobi?_ he thought to himself. _What is a village that was so valuable that my brother sacrificed so much?_ But the thought that scared him more than all others, was where he fit into all three of those things. Sasuke looked briefly at Kabuto, still under the effects of the Izanami as a pit welled in his stomach.

 _What am I?_

No sooner had he begun to ask these questions than his thoughts were put on hold. The wall nearby him crashed open revealing the faces of two people he had almost forgotten somehow. The first was Suigetsu, the second was Jugo. After several minutes of conversation that seemed completely pointless in relation to what had just occurred, Sasuke found himself with an ancient scroll in hand.

This scroll was the key to everything. With it he would learn the truth.

Not even the hands of fate would get in his way.

Not even if that fate was to revive the serpentine man who had died by his hand only a season ago.

* * *

"We knew," the direction came from another area this time. "You do look so tired after all this time running from your own secrets. It must have been so hard looking after Itachi and Sasuke all of that time. And now Itachi's left you all alone with the baby. You should sleep." The woman scowled and swore.

"You know nothing about me."

"Nothing? Do you really think that after all of this time working around you in the Akatsuki we have learned nothing at all? You are Hashirama's heir to the wood style gene. You are a Senju who fought hard against an Uchiha and even learned to resist the Tsukuyomi. We took an interest from the very beginning. It's time you realized the truth. Don't be a so naive. We've watched and learned all of your attacks so there's no use struggling. You've struggled so much already in your time in the Akatsuki. You've suffered your whole life. You can let go of all of that now." Hikari's head was swimming. If she was keeping track properly, it had been over two days since she had last slept. But Hikari was pregnant with Itachi's child, so she would stay alive and fight, no matter what it took.

Three Zetsu came at her this time, one from above and two from the sides. Hikari fought them off as soon as they came forward, but with each one she disposed of, another took its place.

 _No matter how long I can stand out, there will always be more left to kill. How can I get to the battlefield in time without completely running out of energy?_ The green haired men continued their onslaught as she felt more of her energy dwindle. Five came at once this time, and mustering out yet more willpower she sent wood splinters out in all directions from her. The woman panted, fighting to keep her eyes from closing. The Zetsu that had spoken had been right. It had been a hard life for her in many ways, burdened with responsibility and trauma. The world was filled with so much pain and more problems than seemed surmountable. Many of them originated with the nature of people. So what was the point of fighting when the people themselves would not change? It would be so nice just to let it all go, knowing she had given it her all. It would be an end to a world that did not learn form history. It would be a world with no more cycles. Perhaps a reality of dreams would be the only justice the world could ever know. Just then, directly behind her, she felt another presence. The woman turned to lunge, but was surprised to see the etheric presence of Itachi beside her.

"Itachi I-" filled with shame, she sought to defend the decision she had made.

 _"I know. You couldn't help it."_ The young woman was uncertain whether his words and tone were irritated or truly understanding. Before she had the chance to question, another message came to her mind. _"It's good to be with you again."_ Hikari smiled. It hadn't been until she had spent time fending for herself that she realized how much she had truly come to value his company.

"It's good to see you too."

 _"Head towards the battlefield as if it were the day. I will be your eyes."_ The woman nodded, and began running due Northwest. "Ten o'clock in three seconds. Two more at four o clock in six seconds." Itachi continued listing off attack zones as the woman ran through the pitch black forest.

* * *

Sasuke stood in a great hall with his teammates facing the four former leaders of the village he so despised. Now, at last, Sasuke had the truth, or a version of it that those in the room agreed upon. Sasuke glanced at Tobirama with malice and resentment, muted only by the fact that he was a relic of the past. If it had not been for that man, he gathered, the Uchiha might not have been ostracized from the beginning.

Was conflict and insurmountable division inevitable in a village ruled by two sides who had historically opposed one another? Was power shared between rivals ultimately a recipe for disaster? What could have prevented such a power struggle? Sasuke mulled over the new questions in his mind, deciding which path to go down. The system that had oppressed his family for generations could not be allowed to continue. Whether by completely extinguishing its flame by killing all those who supported it, or by gaining enough power to take control, the leaf village as these men knew it would end.

One thing was certain. In order to bring about justice, Madara Uchiha had to be taken down. The war against the Allied Shinobi Forces centered around one last goal, and that was the acquisition of the nine tails. An image of the blond haired, bold eyed Naruto came to his mind, and with it, a pit in his stomach he still could not name. It was of little importance. If Sasuke were to reach his goal, he would use the Allied Shinobi Force to stop their common enemy. He would use the sentiment of his former teammates against them, by fighting alongside them. In this way, he would minimize the risk of his interference being opposed. Then when the war was over, he would begin his revolution. How it looked he did not yet know, but it would mean an overthrow of the ninja system they knew now, and the beginning of a new era where injustices like Itachi's would have no reason to exist.

Sasuke looked at the four men before him, from the first to the fourth. He saw his brother sitting alongside them, smiling. Itachi would have been named Hokage, he thought, clenching his fist. Everything that he did from here on out would be dedicated to him.

"I'm going to head to the battlefield. I won't let the village and Itachi become nothing."

Shortly after his will and been approved, they all took one last look at the deserted village in the moonlight. Eerily silent, Sasuke could not stop but envision the village as he had once seen it, warm and full of potential. He saw himself walking down the streets beside his brother, unaware of the extent of the pain welling in the hearts of his family. Now in the darkness, he saw it for what it truly was: a shell. A shell once filled with people who walked unaware of the core of the village, a shell which would soon be replaced by something new. Sasuke turned away from his homeland and towards war.

"Let's go."

* * *

A Zetsu clone gave out a blood curtling scream as Hikari tore through his body, stopping at his neck.

"Why don't you just leave me alone?!" the girl spat in the face of her pursuer. "Madara doesn't care about you. He probably doesn't even know about you! He's been dead... for many decades!" The man snickered and died. A new clone immediately followed, answering the question.

"We are older than Madara Uchiha and the late Hashirama Senju. Our orders come not from him but from the Great Mother." Hikari held a knife to the man's neck.

"Wait.. you told me... that you were genetically related to Hashirama! You're not human, so you had to have come from him!"

"We... lied..." the man confessed with an evil grin. Hikari's eyebrows furrowed.

"I don't believe any word you say. So either confess or stop talking about a Great Mother!" A quick slash to the neck finished her victim before she continued running.

 _"They've retreated. It seems the white Zetsu must be regrouping. Hikari, take this time to rest and replenish your chakra."_ The etherial image of Itachi hovered feet off the ground, scanning the terrain for threats.

"How long... do I have?" His wife heaved, slapping on another patch and catching her breath.

 _"I will let you know when they move forward again."_

Time passed. Seconds turned into minutes. Expanding her sensory range, it seemed as if some of the clones had moved further underground. What were they doing?

 _I have to use this time to my advantage and get out of here. If I run as fast as I can to the northeast, I can quietly evade more Zetsu than I have to fight._ She thought to herself.

A vision flashed in her mind.

Sasuke was heading out with Orochimaru and his teammates in tow. What surprised her was that in the time she had been fighting, he had also managed to summon the previous four hokage. The woman gasped astonished at the turn of events, but just as soon as the surprise faded, another, two uglier feelings rose up.

The first was longing. Hikari had never grown up with family who shared her beliefs and ideals. Yet here, now in this strange twist of fate, the man who she had once idolized was running straight in the direction she was headed. This was the man who had first attempted to bring everyone together and stop the senseless fighting. Perhaps her not so distant ancestor he had the answers she was looking for.

The second emotion was resentment. As soon as Hikari's fists clenched at the look of the faces of the men whose actions and inactions indirectly resulted in the corruption of the village. She wanted to yell at the others, especially Lord Second, for their poor leadership. It took only a moment to make up her mind.

"Itachi, how many more Zetsu are there?"

 _"I cannot be sure from beyond the living. It seems that there are quite a few more."_ She nodded.

"I'm so tired. I don't have the energy to face them all... I need to get out of here. I'll use the majority of the remainder of my chakra to turn into ether and escape this place. Tell me which direction to move in." Itachi nodded, supportive of her precautions.

 _"I will move with you every step of the way. Due north. Hurry."_ With that she took a deep breath and changed form, running at top speed towards the edge of the forest.

 _Great grandfather... I'm coming for you._

* * *

Hope you liked it! I thought it was really important to put the first scene in there from Itachi's perspective. I think people really don't realize how beautiful and pure that scene is and how much character growth is there. I've heard people say that Itachi should have hugged his brother, that he was still distant. They don't realize how utterly intimate and vulnerable it was for Itachi to do what he did, so I wrote it that way.

I'm going to do my best to zoom through the rest of the war quick. Mother Hikari is not far away!


	8. Under the Scarlet Moon

**Hi everyone! I realize it has been quite a time since I have posted. Graduate school turns out to be much more work than I had originally accounted for, and it became virtually impossible to keep up with writing at the same pace as I had in the past. I have been working on this chapter slowly for all of this time, as it was a rather tedious one to write. Fortunately, I am taking a four month break this summer! It is my goal to either finish this story in that time, or at least come close. My next half of graduate school in the fall will be even more hectic than this past one. This should become easier once the war is over. Anyways, I apologize. Another chapter should be coming out soon! I truly do appreciate those of you who continue to follow this story, and the previous one. It really does mean so much. I'm wishing you all the best.**

* * *

Sasuke stood beside his former companions, now estranged, facing a common enemy. The man he had known as Madara looked entirely different now, for it had not been Madara at all.

It had been easy to stomach the notion of killing the last living Uchiha besides himself. After all, Itachi had seen to it that he would not be the last of his line. And if he faltered, he would risk jeopardizing the villages future. His first concern was that the ten tails had split itself into hundreds of smaller beings. From the looks of it, the allied shinobi were low on chakra.

Sakura ran forward, punching the first monster in the stomach.

 _She hasn't changed at all._ He thought. The monster flew through the air, hitting ten more. Before he knew it, the young woman had flung herself high into the air, charging down to the earth below with a fist. The ground underneath her crumbled into large pieces a hundred feet in diameter. _Or not; she's gotten strong!_ he commented internally. A larger being towered over the young woman and the nearby allies. Naruto and himself fired respective attacks at the creature to defeat it. _I shouldn't have underestimated you, Sakura. Perhaps now, you can be of some use to us._

* * *

Hikari ran as fast as her feet could carry her, past the cover of trees, towards the battlefield.

 _"Hikari, you've got to be easy on yourself. You've outrun the White Zetsu. Take a moment to breathe."_ Itachi's voice warned gently.

"No," the woman panted. "Not yet." Remote viewing to the battlefield far ahead, Sasuke had arrived with the others and was now fighting what looked to be the horrifying figures she had once seen drawn in an old book on a shelf of the man she had once known as Madara. And while both of them had full confidence Sasuke would be protected, there was one last thing she had to take care of.

In time, Hashirama Senju divided his chakra amongst multiple clones in order to control the flow of battle. Hikari would not stop running until she arrived at her target.

Finally, the woman was within telepathic range. That also meant that she was almost within sensory range for the highest rank shinobi. The woman slowed down and knelt behind a fallen boulder, heaving. She closed her eyes and send a message through her mind.

"I am an ally. Send a clone due Southwest for one and three quarters of a kilometer. I have a plan to stop Madara."

* * *

Sasuke saw the malice in Obito's eyes as he gazed at Naruto. It was clear he wanted the boy dead more than himself. A lump appeared in Sasuke's gut and he clenched his fist. "You're not the one who is going to sever the past... I am!"

The massive amounts of chakra that had gathered inside the man were too much for his body to take. For a time, Sasuke watched the Uchiha's physical form radically distort, until somehow, he was able to gain control once more. Obito's power was immeasurable, even with Sasuke's sharingan. The boy couldn't help but wonder if the battle had been lost.

 _Brother... what am I supposed to do against an opponent who can absorb all ninjutsu attacks in perfect defense and offense? His chakra seems to have more than four changes in nature... what then, is his weak point?_ The boy looked onwards without a change in expression, glancing at Naruto's face filled with as much determination as it always was.

 _Even now, you're such a fool, Naruto._

Using the strength of the four previous Kage, Sasuke and Naruto continued their onslaught against the jinchuriki Obito. It seemed they were at a loss. With each approach, the Kage sustained heavy damage from the dark matter their opponent wielded. But then, the toad from Mt. Miyaboku shot an attack at the man's shield. Sasuke noticed the change just as his counterpart did; the chakra shield had been weakened. The man began to give a pointless lecture, and they knew it was their chance to act once more. But while Sasuke racked his brain for another attack plan, Naruto had already leapt into the air. With the help of Lord Second's transportation jutsu, Sasuke watched the blonde-haired boy launch the same useless rasengan into the back of their enemy, screaming at the man all the while.

 _Use your head..._ the raven-haired boy found himself thinking. _You are still too emotional. It's going to get you killed even before I can get to you myself._ Naruto landed, circles around his eyes, and grinned boldly. The blond concluded that only senjutsu attacks would work against the ten tails jinchuriki. He had acted more quickly than Sasuke and had developed an effective attack plan.

Sasuke felt something clench inside his gut.

 _Even with my new eyes... my amaterasu... my susanoo... you continue to get stronger! Why... How do you continue to surpass me?"_

* * *

Hiding behind the boulder, Hikari caught her breath and waited. With an exchange of several more words, a figure she recognized only out of history textbooks. In ten minutes time, the figure ran past her, unable to sense her presence which she had hidden as a precaution. The woman ran towards him with an outstretched arm.

"Lord Hashirama!" the man turned in half surprise but continued with her to hide behind another fallen stone.

"You sent for me, then, did you?"

"Yes," she smiled. The woman allowed for him to look her up and down, noting their resemblance. She couldn't help but size the man once called the God of Shinobi up herself.

"We are in the middle of a battle. Who are you? What do you know of fighting Madara? You are but a young kunoichi." The realization came at her like a ton of bricks. This man had lived in a time much different than their own. There was even a chance he did not view women as equals in strength.

"My name is Hikari Senju. I am your great granddaughter. The fifth Hokage is my aunt." The first Hokage looked from her hair to her face, then grinned wide.

"Is that right? I can certainly see the family resemblance." The man placed a hand on her shoulder to Hikari's shock. "I have to admit that I had hoped that the Senju name would have died out before now. I had intended for my line to assist in ending clan affiliation." The woman smiled broadly and nodded.

"That is my dream too, and it has been realized with our clan. I am the last of your direct descendants and the Senju bloodline. And that is why I am the best way to help stop Madara."

"I respect your confidence but warn you not to be so hasty. This Madara is a reanimation, and I am the only one who is strong enough to face him in the hopes of coming out victorious. Even if you could use wood style substitutions, it would make no difference." The woman shook her head.

"You don't understand. I can fight beside you and together we can win! It is because I have spent the better part of three years perfecting all of your largest jutsu. It is because in the last two years of my life, I learned to resist the mangyekyo and dissolve a perfect susanoo." With satisfaction, Hikari watched the man's eyes widen to grasp the words she was telling her.

"Such large claims. Why then, have you not been fighting alongside the rest of the alliance?"

"Because I just arrived at the battlefield. I had been trapped in a house guarded by many of the enemy's soldiers. He knew I could be instrumental in this war. It's a long story, but I had to escape him before the war started." It wasn't untrue. The man nodded in understanding. "Listen, I know we don't have much time. When you fight against Madara, I will travel invisibly as an ether to evade his sensory abilities. When I am behind him when he creates his Susanoo, I will rise up using wood style and use a sound style jutsu which will dissolve his jutsu. I've done it before multiple times. While he is vulnerable, we can seal him-" Suddenly, Hikari became dizzy and almost threw up. The man looked at her concerned.

"Your chakra is low, Hikari Senju. No doubt due to your escape. Allow me to transfer some of my chakra to you." Without pausing, the man put his hands out to transfer his life force, closing his eyes. Hikari felt both a warm sense of family she had never known, while also feeling oddly weak in relation to the Hokage with immeasurable chakra even compared to her own. She allowed the rapid influx of energy to restore her. Only a few minutes later, the man stood up with his brow furrowed. Fully restored, the woman looked up at her elder.

"What is wrong?"

"There is something you're not telling me, isn't there Hikari Senju? I didn't become the first Hokage only for my use of wood style, you know." The woman hesitated, waiting for him to say it. "There is a life force inside of you that is separate from your own. Are you having a child?" The woman nodded.

"I am." Hashirama nodded his head.

"Then I cannot risk endangering your life in this plan. You harbor the future of the village inside you!" Hikari grew exasperated.

"I know that! That's why I'm here in the first place. If Madara is not defeated, there won't be a village to raise it in at all! Look at things where they stand now. We're on the brink of being completely overpowered. You have to let me come with you. I would not create a plan that would endanger my child. If I wanted that, I would simply fight Madara myself."

"I'm sorry, Hikari, but I simply cannot take that risk. Madara is simply too dangerous." Hikari fought to maintain the image she had once had of the figure standing before her.

"Why are you underestimating me? I told you just now that if it weren't for the life of this child, I would have just as much a chance as you in defeating him! Time is of the essence!" Out from the distance, another figure approached the two of them.

"Hashirama, who is this woman?" a low voice said in an almost accusing voice. "An enemy?" Hikari turned her head from Hashirama to look at the source of the voice. Just as soon as she did, she almost regretted it. Her expression grew solemn.

It was Lord Second- a clone of the original judging by the lesser amount of chakra.

"Tobirama..." the woman mumbled, crossing her arms in resentment. Hashirama's clone grinned.

"It's not an enemy. In fact, she's our direct descendant!"

"My name is Hikari Senju. I am a master of wood style, and I believe that I could be instrumental" she glanced again to lord First "in sealing Madara."

The two caught the new clone up to speed, Hikari avoiding eye contact with the Second Hokage all the while. Tobirama listened intently as she insisted that she was up to the task at hand.

"While I do not doubt her strength," Hashirama began, "the woman harbors new life inside her. I can't let her move further to the battlefield.

"Hikari Senju, even if you were able to dispel Madara's attacks, there are many variables you have not considered. The ten tails is on the loose, and his direction could easily be changed if Madara began to lose his battle. Risking your life is extremely irresponsible. Does your pregnancy mean nothing to you?" The white-haired man's dismissal was the last straw. Her eyes felt almost bloodshot as she glared daggers into him.

"How dare you doubt my loyalty to my child?! This baby means everything to me, and I will keep them safe not because of you, but in spite of you. I believe that this child will live to become everything that you once feared would arise from your village. They will become the first in a generation of a new era free of the corruption you began. But I cannot keep them safe in the world of Shinobi while Madara remains a threat. Something is coming, something worse than we've ever faced before. And nothing in the arsenal of the Allied Shinobi Force can defend against it. I know this because I was held hostage by creatures that work directly for Madara. This is about more than being cast into a world of illusion. They called it the Great Mother. And I fear that the only thing that can fight against it besides reanimations... is wood style! The end is almost upon us. That is why you have to let me come with you." The two elders thought over her words silently for a time. Finally, Lord Second looked into the woman's eyes suspiciously.

"You say you are a Senju who harbors the future of the village inside of you. Why then would the child live to be something I once feared?" Hikari spoke from anger, not from reason.

"Because I am the wife of Sasuke Uchiha's late elder brother, Itachi Uchiha!" The woman regretted it just after she said it. But it was too late. Even with the influx of chakra she had not slept in a very long time. Time was of the essence. "You never trusted the Uchiha. You built the village alongside them and then ostracized them from the village by creating the police force. You blame the Uchiha for succumbing to a curse of hatred when in actuality the curse was the oppression they were forced to live within. And you thought of them as power hungry even when they slowly had their power stripped away from them. You willingly created a system that lead to the genocide of an entire clan. But you failed. The Uchiha will live, and my child will help to create a better world where your corruption no longer exists-"

"You're wrong, Hikari," Tobirama spoke. "I never intended to isolate the Uchiha from the village." The comment earned the man a wary gaze from the corner of Hikari's eye as he spoke. "While I did believe that their inherent temperament would lead to a power struggle, I agreed that the solution was to dissolve the system of clans, not divide them. I fully recognize my prejudice towards the clan during my life was a mistake. But my intent with the Leaf police force was to use their temperament constructively, and to give them a place of power, where they could work integrated within all areas within the village, unlike the Nara or Akimichi clans, for example, which lived their lives mostly in their own compound." The woman considered this but shook her head.

"You placed them in a position that inherently invited resentment towards them. How could you have been so foolish? Intent means nothing compared to impact," the woman countered.

"Indeed," Hashirama agreed. "But I would appreciate it if you did not place all of the mistakes of the past on my brother. I too, played a role before my passing." Hikari looked towards him, surprised. "It was me who first proposed the idea of a Leaf Police Force. In the last weeks before my death, I remember having a visitor come to my bedside dressed in Leaf attire... it was strange, I don't remember seeing his face, but I do remember his voice. It was the voice of a man who had visited me periodically throughout my childhood." At this comment, Tobirama turned to his elder brother exasperated.

"What?! What in the world are you blabbering about? You never told me anything like that!" The first Hokage made a face something akin to humiliation and befuddlement.

"It was too strange to mention, alright?! There were many new jutsu I was not familiar with during the days when clans had only begun coming together to be a village. The jutsu were different even before then, when we were children. There was much we didn't know. But now it's all coming back." The elder's brows furrowed in deep thought and recollection. "During my youth, shortly after meeting Madara, I was approached by a figure in a tree. It had told me that a conflict was approaching my clan. Shortly after, my clan was massacred and I lost my brother. Then, once more in my early adulthood, I heard from it while walking. I asked who it was, but all I received in response was that I would soon meet the nine tails jinchuriki. Once again, this came to pass. In the end of my life I finally saw its form. A black shadow, small and menacing. I had told myself it was my war weary mind. It was then that the idea of a police force was brought to my awareness. I had never intended on enforcing something so isolating. But because the presence had been correct in the past, I brought it up to you, brother." An image shot through Hikari's mind. And with it, horror. Her heart lurched.

"Preposterous! You had not been well. Are you certain it was not in your imagination?" The elder one shook his head. Hikari crossed her arms.

"He's telling the truth. I know of the creature you speak of... His name is Black Zetsu. He's been watching me for three years. Whatever is about to happen with the Infinite Tsukuyomi, I believe now that he must be behind it."

* * *

Obito recovered, and to their collective surprise, summoned a tall stalk with blossoms which produced the same chakra orbs as found with the tailed beasts. He then erected a barrier around the entire allied shinobi forces, in an effort to trap everyone in the blast radius of the explosions. Once more, Naruto responded without missing a beat. And within a matter of seconds, each soldier found themselves wrapped in the nine tails chakra. The tailed beast bombs exploded, and everyone found themselves transported outside the barrier. Naruto explained his plan then to Sasuke, who looked up at him from his own tailed beast cloak.

 _"You continue to protect the strength of everyone around you... and you are regarded as a hero. But I truly know you, Naruto. Your tactics are only stem from your life of solitude."_

Sasuke watched along with Jugo as the blonde-haired boy continued his onslaught with his father, shrouded by etheric fox creatures, and felt for a moment, an unexpected pang of jealousy. Was it from the way he had so quickly earned the respect of his father? No, Sasuke had long let go of any shred of hope he would have gained that level of respect. It was the ease at which he grew stronger, despite all the time Sasuke had spent training long ago. It was the wonder at how much further the boy would go until he reached his limit.

 _How far will you go, Naruto? How much more will you show them?_ Then again perhaps he spoke too soon. Just as quickly had he began his onslaught cloaked in the kyuubi's form that he realized the ninjutsu would not work on their enemy. The boy began berating himself, reminiscent of their childhood spent together.

 _You're too weak, Naruto. If it's senjutsu that works, I can provide it. If only for now, I will make you stronger._

* * *

"Hikari Senju, this is the most important mission, and the ongoing war is the perfect distraction for us to undertake it. You must find this Zetsu creature and stop it. If we do not stop Madara and Zetsu together, I fear for the future of humanity itself." Hikari nodded, knowing full well the gravity of the situation.

"I will take my leave, then. Farewell, Lord Hashirama." She bowed respectfully, then looked up to his younger brother. "Farewell to the both of you." Despite her new view of Tobirama's motivations, she could not bring herself to forgive him for the harm he indirectly caused. What a fool to have created a job intended for only a certain group of people. Isolation and segregation of power was bound to breed exploitation of some form, to the Uchiha or by the Uchiha.

"Hikari Senju, wait," the silver haired man stopped her as she turned away from them. The woman half turned her head in anticipation to hear another excuse. "I truly apologize for the pain I have caused you, and to the Uchiha of the past. I have made many mistakes, but now I see that my dealings with the Uchiha clan were my largest downfall. I am proud to know that the last of my clan is fighting to reunify the bonds that have been broken. I'm putting my faith and trust in you that you will raise your child to create a stronger, more peaceful village where its people will no longer have to needlessly die. Keep your child safe. It is the most important priority on behalf of the Senju clan and the future of our village." Hikari thought over his words. Finally, she smiled.

"I will protect my child for as long as I am alive. Thank you for the sentiment, Lord Second."

You have to stay hidden," Hashirama spoke. "From what I remember, the black creature traveled underground. But he is weak, and I don't believe he would be able to hurt your child." Hikari nodded, understanding.

"I'll begin by sensing underground." She looked down and began to realize the difficulty of the situation. "Black Zetsu... is going to be the most difficult enemy for me... We are both sensors with telepathic communication. We can both stay completely unseen... I anticipate much of this night will be comprised of us avoiding each other. But time is of the essence, and Zetsu is physically weak. I will do everything I can to locate and take him down." Hashirama nodded at her happily.

"And I will soon approach Madara. I don't know exactly what lies ahead of us, but I hope that together we can end this war." Hikari smiled, a familiar boldness returning to her eyes.

"Fight Madara with all you've got, Lord First. I won't be far away."

* * *

Together, Sasuke and Naruto gained the upper hand, Sasuke's susanoo powered with Jugo's senjutsu, shielding Naruto's fox spirit. Behind them, their former comrades ran to their aid, each obtaining one of Naruto's large rasengan. Sasuke could not care less about his weak former classmates of course. They only served as means to an end. Together, each teammate struck at the jinchuriki, revealing the chakra of the tailed beasts inside him. They roared in an effort to escape.

 _If it weren't for the tailed beasts having existed at all, this would be so much less trouble. In fact, if it weren't for the tailed beasts, perhaps none of the misfortune of my world would have happened at all. Maybe the Uchiha would not have been feared, and any terrorist organizations would not have become so powerful that they were unmanageable. The tailed beasts were the origin of wars... what use to they have in a new system?_ Sasuke contemplated this realization silently, as the team began to devise a way to pull the beasts out. Naruto and Sasuke wrestled with the threads of chakra which gave Obito power as the flower overhead continued to bloom and blossom under the light of the scarlet moon.

The allied shinobi force came to their aid in full force. With everyone's combined efforts, Sasuke knew they would overpower this man. And yet, he knew this temporary effort was futile.

 _So what, if the allied shinobi force defeat this jinchuriki. Who cares if this war comes to an end in our favor? I still know that is not an end. As long as tailed beasts and ninja villages exist, as long as the lands of Fire, Earth, Water, Lightning and Stone continue to pay others to do their dirty work, wars will still exist, and the chaos my brother lived in will come to be once more._

It was because of this, that Naruto's comrades did not shine light on Sasuke's eyes even now in this moment. Sasuke's only true goal was to end this fruitless war, rid the world of this terrible system that allowed it to happen, and then take Itachi's child for himself.

 _Hikari... where are you I wonder..._

* * *

What hour was it? What day was it? The crimson moon hovered overhead, massive in the night sky. Alone, Hikari stood with her eyes closed, sensing deep underground. She had used a portion of her chakra to make several clones, in hopes that her opponent could not detect how much chakra flowed within them. A time earlier, she had sensed him hovering a kilometer closer to the battlefield than she stood. But upon moving forward, he must have sensed her and burrowed deeper into the earth. It appeared that it was he, not white Zetsu, that could most clearly locate specific people by their chakra signature.

 _He knows I'm pursuing him. He must. And if that is true, then I must do something threatening enough to force him to move and then corner him... but that would only make a scene. I can't risk alerting Madara of my wood style. I have no choice but to follow him underground and then turn into ether._

Taking a deep breath, Hikari placed her hand on the ground and created a winding stream of wood to burrow down into the Earth. The wood created a body sized hole nearing thirty feet down before she gasped. The resistance between the wood and the earth had stopped, and not because she had hit solid rock. Hikari mumble to herself quietly, in awe as she remote viewed the source of confusion.

"So, this is it then. This is the tunnel where Obito ventured off to back then... This is the underground cavern where he found all the white Zetsu..."

Alone on a forsaken battlefield, Hikari suddenly felt small and outnumbered. For a hundred feet down below, hidden underneath the roots of the Flower of Life, rested roughly twenty thousand dormant white Zetsu clones. The woman could not help but raise her hand to her mouth in astonishment.

"All this time... all this time I didn't see it..."

For a moment, Hikari watched the battle between Madara and Hashirama begin, silently imprinting the historic moment into her memory. This time, unlike memories of being an awestruck child who never could have imagined a battle of that scale, Hikari smiled confidently. She was brought back to her memory of the day she had married her husband and thought of how much she had grown.

"I really wish I could have tested myself against Madara Uchiha and shown Lord First what I was capable of." Her husband, who had not been far off, smiled at her.

 _"You don't need to prove yourself anymore, Hikari. You know from experience you are strong enough. Now, you have something much more precious you must protect. You must help to stop the infinite Tsukuyomi."_ Hikari looked down into complete darkness. " _Be careful."_

Hikari placed her hand fondly on her stomach and mumbled to her unborn child.

"The most precious thing I have now... I will protect you with my life, even in the darkness at the end of the world." The woman slowly let herself dissolve into ether once more and sunk slowly into the hole in the pitch black Earth.

* * *

Whelp that's it for now! We'll have one more War Arc chapter, then we'll go into the aftermath and Boruto's generation from Sasuke and Hikari's perspective!


End file.
